Operation Thaw
by emhmom
Summary: Ranger's freezing his butt off on a mission and decides to plan Operation Thaw. In the meantime, Stephanie makes a plan of her own. Rated for language, some angst, some violence and smut!   No animals were actually harmed in the writing of this FF.
1. Chapter 1

Rated: M for language (for now). Not mine, not making any money. Written for the February 2010 PP "Blackheart Challenge" and the BS "Lets Talk About Love Challenge"  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 1--**

* * *

His ass was cold. Ok, beyond cold. He was freaking freezing. He was crouched under the drooping branches of a birch tree, his white and tan fatigues blending perfectly into the background.

"Freaking, freezing Russia on Valentine's Day", he thought.

He could barely make out his team in the early light, but he knew where they were. Tank was about 150 yards to his left in a similar grove of trees. Lester was a similar distance to the right but hunkered down in the snow and tall grass. Bobby was about 200 yards behind them, close enough to help if needed, but far enough away to keep the team medic out of most the action. After all, can't have the patch-up guy needing to be patched up. Ram, was situated above him in a tree with a sniper rifle.

Their original target was a gun running middleman that had run to the 'old country' to escape some Heat. Their intel said that the Heat had found him and was on its way there to settle things. The government had decided that Rangeman should stick around, gather info and eliminate the players.

They knew the meeting was set for today, but weren't sure on the time. There was little cover around the small hideout and it was hard to move into position in the snow during the day. So, under the cover of dawn, the Rangemen had moved into position. A light snowfall had covered their tracks and now they were ready, waiting, bored and freezing.

Using long perfected techniques, he relaxed his muscles and slowed his breathing, his body perfectly still. His mind, on the other hand, was anything but. The secret to patience is having something to do in the meantime and in his mind, he planned the perfect dinner date for Stephanie. It wouldn't have been tonight. Oh no, any schmuck can get all romantic on Valentine's or a birthday, but real romance, the kind that comes from true love, is done when it is least expected and done in the smallest ways.

He learned this watching his parents. His mothers face would light up in delight when his father would surprise her with a handful of daisies picked from the garden. She peppered his face with kisses when shed get up in the morning to find he'd already packed the lunches for school and made coffee. On the occasion he'd get home from work before she was back from errands and start dinner for her, the love for him shone so brightly in her eyes and they'd stand in the kitchen locked in a tight embrace. He also learned love in a physical way by watching them. His parents were always connected somehow. At the dinner table they always sat close, knees touching. When they went somewhere, they held hands. When they walked together his father would place his hand on the small of his mothers back and guide her.

He knew, sadly, his Babe hadn't grown up in a house that expressed love in the same way. If she had, she would have known his love for her with every car he loaned her, every man that helped her, every time he checked in on her. He knew he had sent her mixed messages and she was confused. It was his own fault she felt like a nuisance instead of a pleasure. His plan was to rectify that problem as soon as he returned to Trenton. He was going to sit down with her and have a long talk. It was going to be difficult. She had as hard a time hearing what he was trying to say as he did trying to say it.

They didn't, however, have any issues with the touching. He couldn't keep his hands to himself around her and she seemed to crave his touch. When he went into the bonds office, he'd stand close behind her and wait. She always instinctively melted against him. When she did, he'd touch her back or rest his hand on her neck. They were connected in spirit too. On more times than he cared to remember, something would feel off, or he'd get a hinky feeling minutes before his phone would ring or of being notified by the control room of a Stephanie-related 911 call. He'd been in Miami during the Stiva incident, but all day he had felt off. He knew she could feel him too. When he got near, he could see her start to rub the back of her neck and look around for him. When he broke into her apartment, it only took her about 10 minutes to wake up from a dead sleep if he waited and she'd start to toss and turn within minutes of his arrival. But, if he stroked her hair she'd instantly relax and go back to sleep. To test his theory one time when she was staying on 4 he asked Tank to wake her up. He came back about 15 minutes later totally frustrated because he couldn't get any reaction out of her. His Babe liked her sleep -- a lot.

His father once told him, "**The most precious possession that ever comes to a man in this world is a woman's heart**." He could only hope that Stephanie would deem him worth of that possession. His heart was already hers. **The worst thing a girl could do is make a guy fall for her and not catch him**. Or vice versa. He was pretty sure he'd already screwed that one up completely. Not only did he broker a bad deal, he didn't catch her either. Nope, instead he threw her back. It was a shitty thing to do and he'd gladly spend his whole life making it up to her and the date he was planning was going to be step one.

Yep, he was going to fix the whole mess. He was a master planner. Operation Thaw was going to work.

Word count: 1000 (excludes disclaimer, title, etc)


	2. Chapter 2

Rated: M for language (for now). Not mine, not making any money. Written for the February 2010 PP Blackheart Challenge and the BS Lets Talk About Love Challenge. In this scene, Valentines Day plans go awry. Spoilers through FLF.  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 2--**

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Trenton.

Her ass was numb. Ok, beyond numb. And she needed to pee. And she was bored to tears.

"Freaking, flipping surveillance on Valentine's Day," she thought.

She knew Binkie and Vince were in the other Expedition a block and a half down. Hal sat next to her in typical Rangeman form, shallow breathing, no movement, no talking. They'd been at it for three and a half hours. Thirty more minutes and their backup would be there. She could last thirty minutes. She'd spend the time thinking about her life at that moment.

She was feeling pretty proud of herself. She'd continued to work with Rangeman after she helped crack the robbery case. The men trusted her even more than before because she had found the link and restored balance to the office. In exchange, and since it was a part of her contract, the guys took a serious interest in training her. Bobby had taught her field first aid. Tank constantly worked with her on hand to hand combat and escape techniques. He said it was best she worked with him because he was the biggest guy and if she could break out of his holds she could protect herself from anything. Lester wasn't just fast with the ladies; he was also fast with cars. His favorite thing to teach her was driving techniques. Since she was a Jersey girl she already had pretty good skills in that area. So in addition to picking up and losing a tail and actually being the tail, he taught her how to boost a car and how to disable one. She had a lot of fun being the tail.

Ram was a total gun guy. He worked with her every day to teach her about different guns, how to use them and most importantly, how to respect them and their purpose. He never once belittled her fear of guns. One day hed taken her on a field trip to the cemetery. Once there he introduced her to Brice Wilshire. He explained that Brice had been a neighbor. When they were 9 they were playing hide and seek and found Brice's father's gun. He hadn't taken the precaution of either locking it up or of making sure Brice understood its dangers. His friend shot himself on accident and died. Ram said he was deathly afraid of guns after that. It wasn't until he was in the military, when he was forced to use them, that an instructor had helped him understand that guns were a tool just like a power saw was a tool for a builder. A power saw, in the wrong hands, could also kill or maim. The important thing was to understand the tool and respect it. Once he realized that, he learned everything he could about every weapon he needed to use; how it was made, how every part in it functioned. Armed with knowledge, he felt comfortable being armed with the gun. What he said made sense to her and she learned everything she could about every weapon he asked her to use.

Things with her and Ranger seemed to have cooled off. The stolen kisses happened less often. She was pretty sure Ranger still broke into her apartment on a regular basis but there was no evidence of it. She almost always dreamt of him now any way so she couldnt rely on her hazy memories. Ranger pretty much left her training to the guys but usually sweet talked her into accompanying him on a run at least three days a week. Four months ago he'd gone down to the Miami office to take care of some business. A month after he'd been there he left in the wind. Three weeks ago, the A-team, her support network, her training instructors, her friends, had disappeared into the wind with him.

So here she sat, with the B-Team, watching for a drug-dealing, girlfriend-beating skip. Well, not any more; her musings had eaten up the last thirty minutes of her shift. Headlights flashed behind them and Hal put the car into gear and pulled from the curb. "Where to Steph?" "Home," she replied.

Things with her and Joe seemed to be going pretty well. Earlier today he called and said he'd be by around 7. He didn't give her any other specifics and since it was Valentine's Day he must have a surprise for her. A real date. She was so excited. Joe never took her anywhere. She hadn't been on a real date since a couple years after her divorce. Skipping the elevator in favor of the stairs, yeah, Ranger was rubbing off on her, she checked the light on her key fob. Green meant no one had tried to break in. Still, as a safety precaution, she pulled her gun and did her Charlies Angel impression through the apartment. "All clear," she giggled to Rex as she dropped in a grape. It was 5:45 so she had to haul to get ready for Joe. An hour later she was all glammed up in a sexy cobalt blue silk dress. Its straps crisscrossed over her breasts leaving a keyhole peek-a-boo showing just a hint of cleavage. As the straps crossed they thinned from a solid piece of fabric to three thin strips. The barely-there straps continued down the back crossing again midback leaving her back exposed to her waist. The skirt itself ended midthigh. She styled her hair piled up on her head to expose the sexy back of the dress. She decided to go minimalist for her makeup except for her lipstick. Her lips were stained with a rich, matte red that demanded to be kissed. She was sitting on the couch pulling on her strappy silver heels when she heard her locks tumble. Joe yelled in from the kitchen, "Hey Cupcake."

Frowning, she wondered why she smelled pizza. She wandered into the kitchen to see Joe grabbing plates from the cupboard. A Pino's pizza box sat on the counter alongside a six-pack of Corona.

"Joe?" she hesitated.

He still hadn't turned around, "Hey Cupcake, I brought pizza. I knew you wouldn't want to miss the Rangers game to---." He had finally turned around and his voice trailed off. "Wow, Cupcake. The last time you dressed up like that was when you had that sexy black dress after my cousin's wedding." His eyes darkened with desire and he gave her a devilish grin, "I suppose this is for a similar reason?"

His smile faltered as her eyes flashed with ice and fury, "No, it is not! Well, maybe it would have been later." The bite in her eyes turned lustful and she drifted off a bit before she shook her head, straightened her spine and snapped her eyes back to his, "Its Valentine's Day, Joseph! I thought when you called you were planning to take me out. On a date, out. Not sit at home like we ALWAYS do with beer, pizza and the Rangers."

"Oh," he said flatly. Then with a huge grin, "Why would I need to do that? I already got the girl!"

She went from angry to Rhino instantly. "Already got the girl? Already got the girl?" Her voice was rising. "I don't care if we've been married 50 damn years, I still expect. No, I still deserve some romance! Why dont you ever take me out Joe?"

He hesitated a second too long to answer. "Never mind Morelli! **Forget love, I'd rather fall in chocolate!** You go right ahead and enjoy your pizza and your beer and watch the game. When you're done clean up after yourself." She grabbed her purse and opened the door, "Oh and when you go, leave the key." With that, she turned and walked out the door.

Word count: 1300 (excludes disclaimer, title, etc)


	3. Chapter 3

Rated: M for language (for now). Not mine, not making any money. Written for the February 2010 PP Blackheart Challenge and the BS Lets Talk About Love Challenge.

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 3--**

* * *

Still in Trenton.

"Huh," she thought to herself. She figured dumping Joe would hurt more. Maybe it didn't because she'd had so much practice in their off and on relationship. Only, this didn't feel like a stage, this felt permanent. And, the more she thought about it, the better she felt.

For a moment, she sat in her latest POS car and reflected on her words, "I still expect, I still deserve some romance! Why don't you ever take me out Joe?" Why didn't he ever take her out? Why were dinners with Ranger only about business? Why did the Dick only take her out when he needed to make a good impression on a client? Was she really worth so little? **How could she love them when they didn't even care?**

She didn't like where this line of questioning was taking her. But, she kept on it just the same. She finally concluded that it wasn't the men in her life, it was her. She let them keep to these low standards. She never forced them to step up and treat her like she deserved to be treated. She was happy to float along not making tough decisions: either allowing someone else to force her hand, like Joyce and Dickie, or waiting for someone else to take the lead, thus her undefined relationships with Joe and Ranger. Well, that ended tonight! Tonight she stood up for Stephanie Michelle Plum and damn if it didn't feel good.

Deciding she'd taken enough time musing in the parking lot, she dialed Lula. "Hey White Girl, I thought you had big plans? What'r you doing callin me?"

"Joe's romantic **Valentine'**s Day plans consisted of beer, pizza and a Rangers game -- sound familiar? So I left him to clean up the mess and told him to leave my key when he went!"

"You go! That man never deserved you!" Pride was clear through Lula's voice. "I tell you what, come meet me. I'm getting hooked up right now."

She made note of the address and headed in Lula's direction. Neither Lula nor Connie were very successful on the dating scene lately either. Since they were dateless on Valentine's Day, they were at a meet and greet for single ladies. They were enjoying cocktails, and if she hurried, she could make it there for the presentation.

Deciding to work her awesome hair and beautiful dress, she strutted into the event. "Damn Girl!" Lula shrieked, "You looked like that when Super Cop showed up?" She nodded. "Yep, that man is an idiot!" Dragging her over to a stunning, older woman, Lula began, "Loretta, this here is my girl, the Bombshell Bounty Hunter, Stephanie Plum. Do you see how hot she is? Her lame ass man, showed up on her door step with pizza and beer expecting to watch a Rangers game with her tonight! Can you believe that bullshit?"

Loretta looked her up and down, a slow smile spreading across her face, "Hell no! Stephanie Plum, huh? Ive heard much about you. You, my dear, are a fascinating woman. Please, make yourself comfortable, our presentation is just about to begin."

She got a vodka sour from the bartender and had just sat between Lula and Connie when the lights dimmed and a movie began to play. "Love," a sultry voice began, "**affection**." Between each word a picture was displayed showing couples in various kinds of **embrace**, some dancing, some dining, some strolling hand in hand. "**Devotion**." "**Passion**." "**Worship**." "Every woman deserves to find **intimacy**, **tenderness**, adoration." More pictures rolled past. "More is needed than just a **fancy** **lover** to win your **heart**." The movie faded and the lights focused in the middle of the stage on Loretta.

"Ladies, let tonight be a new beginning for you. Let go of the past. Let go of bad men. Let go of hurt feelings. Let go of past decisions. Tonight," she paused for dramatic effect, "tonight, with the help of Exclusive Services, you can find yourself a new man, one who has chosen you, because of you. One who has also experienced the pain of a bad woman, who has had hurt feelings, who has made unpleasant decisions. These men have come to Exclusive Services and left their own comfort zones because they are seeking one thing. They are seeking an extraordinary woman to be theirs. To be their partner. To be their lover. To accept them without reservation, without preconceived ideas about who they are or what they do. Just the same way, Ladies, you want them to accept you. My assistants will have all the information you need to get started with Exclusive Services. Thank you so much for joining us this evening."

Applause filled the room as Loretta stepped off the stage and headed toward her. "Stephanie Plum, I must get to know you better. Please, tell me how you ended up here tonight."

So she began, explaining her past with Dickie and the divorce. She told her about her history with Joe and their, as of this evening, past relationship. She explained how she ended up a bounty hunter. She almost told Loretta about Ranger, but decided to keep that information to herself. Her history with Joe and Dickie and her life in the Burg made her complicated enough. Loretta shook her head a little and said, "Stephanie, we would be most pleased to have you as a client. The men we represent are rich, or famous, or have some other reason they find it difficult to date. For a fee, they tell us about the type of woman they are seeking, the role shed have to fill in their lives. In exchange for this fee, we search everywhere for the type of woman they seek. Their past doesnt matter. For instance, your friend Lula, I already can think of a couple clients that will adore her and wont give a damn about her past. The most important services we offer are discretion and loyalty. It is imperative to these men that the woman is interested in them for the person they are, not for what they have or who they could be. To begin with, you only meet each other on paper. And, by on paper, I mean they only get to read about you. No pictures are exchanged in the first stage. Since the men are the paying parties here, everything begins with them. They pick the women that interest them, but you are not required to see a man who doesnt interest you."

"In the second stage, you exchange emails or letters. I know, it seems old fashioned, but it is the best way to see if there is a real attraction before you see if there is a physical attraction. Also, again I must point out, some of these men must be very cautious. Some, once you met them face to face, youd recognize as a famous actor or politician. If that happens, all hope of being attracted to them for the person they are on the inside, disappears. In the third stage, youll likely meet, but in a group setting. This gives the man an opportunity to back out if he is not physically attracted to you. I assure you that happens very, very rarely. Again, it is a byproduct of steps 1 and 2, but when they like who you are on the inside, who you are on the outside is a bonus. In your case," she looked her up and down again, "an amazing bonus. Think of us as E-Harmony on steroids."

"Of course, in the event it doesn't work out, you must sign several confidentiality agreements before we begin. So, Stephanie, are you in?"

She grinned, "Yes!"

Word count: 1284 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	4. Chapter 4

Rated: M for language and an active imagination. Not mine, not making any money. Apologies for a short chapter.

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 4--**

* * *

On a private plane headed to Trenton.

As he sunk down, he paused for a moment to enjoy the soft caress of the buttery leather on his ass. It was the first time in weeks he wasn't frozen. Who would have thought he'd prefer the desert heat found in the Mideast? He took a few more moments to relax and kicked his legs out in front of him imagining a different soft caress on his ass. He pictured her curling up with him in the comfortable chair, sharing each others warmth, breathing in the warm vanilla scent in her hair. He imagined how she would tuck her face into his neck while she half turned into him pressing her breasts into his chest. He felt the heat spread down his abdomen visualizing her hardened nipples rub against him. His cock started to twitch as he dreamt of her lush ass in his lap pressed tightly against it.

A "Yo, boss" from Tank as he slumped into the adjacent chair snapped him from his reverie. They had completed one mission but it spawned a new one that forced them to stay in the frozen wonderland a bit longer. It ended up there was a reason their target had headed to Russia. Not only was it home to him, but it turned out he was diversifying. His partners in Russia dealt flesh, not arms. After obtaining as much info as possible from their target and the Heat that followed him, they had eliminated the Heat. Their target took that as a sign of good faith and produced more information than they expected on the flesh trading. In the end, he was eliminated as well but not before helping them become firmly ensconced as business partners in the new trade. Ram spoken fluent Russian and fit the part well, so he stayed behind with some contracted help to continue to infiltrate the organization in Russia.

Tank opened a file and handed it to Ranger. It clearly showed that Vladimir Popov had infiltrated a perfectly legitimate dating service, Exclusive Services based in New York, with members of his own team and they were smuggling in women for unsuspecting, lonely men. Some of the women had been kidnapped. Others had been sold to Vladimir to pay debts: bribes, loans, gambling. A very few were actually willing participants trying to flee the clutches of Russia for the modern Western world. As far as they could tell the men who dated, and frequently married, these women had no idea their entire background stories were made up.

With Ram as the facilitator in Russia, they would infiltrate Exclusive Services, determine who was involved and bring all the needed evidence to the Russian and American governments.

"Marc Pardo?" Tank questioned.

"Marc Pardo." He confirmed.

Word count: 465 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	5. Chapter 5

Rated: M for language and an active imagination. Not mine, not making any money.

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 5--**

* * *

The day after Valentines in the offices of Exclusive Services.

The office was beautifully decorated in rich mahogany and gray, punctuated with a stunning lapis purple. The reception area was dotted with comfortable leather furniture. She and Lula were enjoying mochas while they waited to complete their paperwork. Sipping the warm, chocolaty caffeinated goodness, she reflected on the previous night. Joe had cleaned up after himself, but he didn't leave his key, nor did he leave. He was sitting on the couch waiting for her when she returned.

"I'm sorry Cupcake," he began, but she cut him off. "No Joe, save it. I meant what I said earlier. I deserve romance until I'm an old lady. I deserve to have someone who supports me unconditionally. Who treats me as an equal partner. Who loves me for who I am today, not who they picture me to be. You love me for the girl I was as we grew up. You love me for my body, for the way we make love. You love me for the children we could have, for the wife I could be, for the perfect family you picture in your head. You don't love me for the woman I am today. For the choices I make and the way I want to live my life. You don't support my decisions; you don't want to offer me choices. You only give me ultimatums. And you have the audacity to think you already got the girl and therefore don't have to put forth any effort. Joe we have NEVER gone out on a real date. Do you know that I love to dance?"

Joe who had been eyeing her warily and listening closely, nodded. "You do, but you've never taken me dancing or out somewhere nice. We go to my parents for dinner and sit in front of a tv watching hockey. It is pitiful really."

"You know," she scoffed, "the only time I get dressed up and go out is for distractions for Ranger!"

Sighing, she sank into the couch, "I don't want this anymore Joe. We'll always have ties to each other and maybe we'll always be friends. But, I don't want this kind of relationship anymore. I know you're going to try to tell me that we can change things, but we've been at this for two years now. I think we've tried long enough."

He protested a bit and they discussed things a bit longer, but eventually he handed her the key to the apartment and left. She didn't believe he really thought it was over. She was certain he was still holding out hope that she'd want to go back on again, but as far as she was concerned, they were done. She was going to date and find someone who loved her for who she was, not what people who knew her since childhood still thought she was, not for what the papers and rumor mills said she was, not for the Burg expectations of who they thought she should be, but for the person she was today.

The perky receptionist brought her out of her reflection, "Ms. Plum, were ready for you."

* * *

She had never in her life had to complete so much paperwork, not even when she was hired at Rangeman. She had to sign three different confidentiality agreements, take several tests and surveys and even completed a Meyers-Briggs personality test and a Jung marriage test. She was told the myriad of questions would help them to find which of their bachelors would best match her personality. She was assured that the bachelors took the same tests. The bachelors were also given an additional test to be sure they weren't abusive in any way and a physical to be sure they were healthy and disease free. Loretta assured her, "We are really quite concerned about the women we bring into our service. We don't want to bring you into any harm so we do all that we can do check and double-check the backgrounds of the men we choose to represent."

Some of the questions on her surveys were entertaining. Things like: Your'e in the middle of dinner and your man insults you. You choose to throw: Wine, Salad, Rice or Bread. You didn't have an option of saying, "Um, I'm adult and wouldn't get into a food fight." You had to choose from the available answers. In this particular case, she picked the salad. Of course she'd throw the salad; she wanted to eat the rest! Other things were more serious and made her wonder if they were written just for her: You prefer to act immediately rather than speculate about various options, yes or no? She laughed out loud, der! YES!

She wrapped up the tests and paperwork in a couple hours and returned to reception area to wait for Lula. She felt really good about what she had done. She was proud of herself for taking charge and for dumping Joe. Thinking that she was proud of herself, however, led her thoughts to Ranger. Would he be proud of her? Would he think she was being crazy? She shook the thought from her head. She really didn't think he was interested in her for more than sex and friendship. Her relationship with Joe could easily be defined as fuck buddies and she didn't want that kind of relationship with Ranger, she wanted more. However, since his life didn't lend itself to relationships and she really wanted a real relationship they were stuck in a bad place as far as she could tell. She probably shouldn't worry so much about it especially since she hadn't seen him or heard from him in four months. His disappearing acts were just as frustrating as Joe's. She rubbed her fingers against her temple, closed her eyes and allowed herself to wonder for a moment what the results would be if Ranger took the Jung test. Then she laughed out loud.

Word count: 989 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	6. Chapter 6

Rated: M for language and an active imagination. Not mine, not making any money. Response to Jenny & Das's Women's History Month challenge.

NOTE: I don't think I was clear in Chapter 4 that Rangers return was a couple weeks after Valentines Day.

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 6--**

* * *

Five days after Valentines Day, one week before Ranger and team head home from Russia.

She sat on her couch deep in thought with her hands on the keyboard of her laptop. It had been so long since she dated she wasn't sure where to begin. It reminded her of the pen pal she had when she was in elementary school. Her class had adopted a sister classroom in China. The teacher had handed out index card with their new buddy's information on it. They were supposed to develop a friendship with the person throughout the school year. Her pen pals name was Jia. It meant beautiful. She had tried very hard to correspond with Jia on a regular basis but it was difficult. What do you tell a complete stranger? So now, just like then, she sat trying to think of what to say.

Loretta had given her the profiles for two men who matched her in the low 70s. Fifties were bad, anything over 65 was good, anything over 80 was almost unheard of. One of the men was a Mixed Martial Arts expert, code named Rebel. They were given code names by the agency to maintain their privacy until they were ready to meet. If they didn't get to stage three, they would never meet and there wouldn't be any worry because neither party knew the other. The other man was a CEO of some sort code named Shamrock. She had a hard time getting excited about Shamrock. It made her picture a red-headed version of Randy Briggs with green tights. She figured shed write them both the same letter.

"Hi!" she began, "I'm Butterfly. They gave me that as my code name because this is supposed to be my rebirth. I've shed my caterpillar life and am emerging as a butterfly. Ha, I hope you're not disappointed." Argh! She quickly backspaced and deleted the whole paragraph. Her new outlook on life and dating meant she had no room for self doubt. "**A person is only as big as the dream they dare to live**," she told herself and then she began again.

"Hi. I'm Butterfly. DWF NK ISO LTR. Ha, ha, just kidding. Well, I am a divorced, white female with no kids in search of a long term relationship, but you already knew that from my profile. Just to get this out of the way, I'm stubborn to a fault and hate being told what to do. But, I'm also fiercely loyal to my friends and family. I've been known to hold a grudge and exact serious revenge when warranted. I want to have choices in my life and in my relationships. I want an equal partnership. Anyone in a relationship with me needs to be 100% honest all the time. I'm not interested in someone who thinks lies of omission aren't lies. I hate having my questions answered with questions. I'd like to be a more private person, but unfortunately the whole world likes to gossip about my life. I guess that is the draw back of living in a small, close knit community."

"I have a sister and three nieces. My parents are still alive and healthy. My grandfather passed away a few years ago, but my grandmother, who I'm afraid I resemble in more ways than I'm comfortable admitting, is alive and kicking and probably will be for another decade. I have a pet hamster. Don't laugh! He is a great companion and blends well in to my hectic life. I used to have a dog that I think was a golden retriever. He liked to chew furniture just a little too much so he got a new home with a friend of mine."

"Food is very important to me. Dessert more specifically! If you're a salad only kind of guy, we may have to call this quits right now. I love comfort food: mac and cheese, Boston creme donuts, steaks, mashed potatoes, pineapple upside down cake, yum. Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my laptop. LOL. Just kidding. Seriously, though, you need to at least have SOME interest in real food with fat and calories and flavor!"

"I love the beach. It is my favorite place to go and relax. I have the best childhood memories from the beach. My grandparents and I used to go there every summer. We'd fly kites and ride bikes. My grandfather and I would stroll up and down the beach looking for shells and pretty rocks. I have fond memories of doing that with him. He'd always wear this heavy, blue cable knit sweater and we'd put our treasures in his pockets. At the end of the day we'd sit around a fire on the beach and pull out our booty. Some of the treasures were truly in disguise because when they were dry they looked plain, but get them a little damp and they'd shine. Our favorite rocks would make a trip to the tumbler to get all polished up. I still have some of our favorites tucked away in a special place."

"I love to dance and haven't been out in ages. I have learned several styles but latin is my favorite. The beat is amazing and the feel of two bodies moving together as one on the dance floor, wow! I also sing, so I'm up for karaoke. I love music in general. I love to rock out to classic rock like Metallica and Guns-n-Roses. New rock like Chevelle, Mudvayne, and Theory of a Dead Man. Hip hop like Jay-Z and Usher. Pop, latin, even country!"

"Well, I think that is enough about me for now. I look forward to learning more about you."

She looked over the letter she had written. Her profile listed her profession as "law enforcement" instead of BEA. Loretta figured she was just famous enough that someone might figure out exactly who she was too early in the process. She was glad because she really wanted to meet someone who liked her for her, not because she was Trenton's famous Bombshell Bounty Hunter. Grabbing on tight to her new attitude, she clicked send.

Word count: 1013 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	7. Chapter 7

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. Written for the March 2010 PP Women's History Month Challenge and the BS St. Patrick's Day Challenge. Use of specific phrase and 10 of 15 words.

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 7--**

* * *

The day Ranger and team head home from Russia.

Over the past week and a half, she, Lula and Connie and exchanged correspondence with their prospective guys. Exclusive Services had arranged for a small cocktail party that evening for twenty or so clients. Rebel and **Shamrock** would both be there; although Loretta told Stephanie and Rebel had expressed more of an interest in a different girl. It seemed he was an exercise nut, even worse than Ranger, if that were possible. The other woman he had been corresponding with owned a Curves franchise so they had a lot of common interests.

Shamrocks letters proved he was a more interesting guy than he originally seemed on paper. He shared her love of pineapple upside down cake and the beach. In fact, he owned a home in the Keys. He was a pilot. He told her his code name was because he was successful in every business venture he had ever entered.

So now she was watching Lula **parade** in front of the mirror at Macy's in a bright **green** spandex tube dress. "Oh, I'm so excited to meet my man! **Pinch** me, but I think he is the one!" she gushed. Lula's potential squeeze, code named Torpedoman (which had Lula squealing in delight as her mind went down a dirty road), had been a Torpedoman in the Navy. This meant that he was a submariner responsible for everything associated with underwater ordinance. He was responsible for the torpedoes themselves, but also the computer systems that controlled them. He had retired and was now a photographer. He knew all about Lula's background and past career. He wasn't judgmental at all. He told her that he didn't know his dad because he had been one of his mothers Johns. She had worked as a waitress and went to night classes to get both of them out of the situation they were in. She had always pushed and supported him. After she quit being a prostitute and started working in an office, she continued to waitress at night so she could afford to put him through college. He graduated from Stanford before going into the Navy. He had always been proud of how strong she had been despite her unfavorable beginning. He told Lula (code named Flash) that although he didn't know her well yet, he was equally proud of her. His momma had once told him, "**No one can make you feel inferior without your consent**!" He took those words very seriously and applied her work ethic to his time in college, in the Navy and in his photography business.

She had already found her outfit for the evening. She had sexy, wide leg, white pants that rode low and tight on her hips. They had two inch wide belt loops where she was going to put a **gold** belt. It highlighted her slim waist (courtesy of Rangeman training). She was pairing a tight semi-see thru long-sleeved black lace shirt with it. It had a wide, high boat neck. The contrast of the high neck and the peek thru skin was sophisticated sexy without being outrageous.

* * *

"Rangeman, Hal," he answered on the first ring.

"Report." Bossman's curt response came through. Hal briefly ran through accounts, surveillance, take downs, and outstanding bonds. The next question didn't surprise him, "Stephanie?"

"She's good, Boss. Since were shorthanded she's been mostly working with Hector. They've done several installs and she is picking things up quickly. She's been spending plenty of time on her own in the gun range and running with us in the morning. We're doing 10 miles now without issue." Hal paused briefly, but Ranger picked up on it. "Spit out Hal."

"Well, um, she, it seems she broke up with Morelli on Valentine's Day. No fight, no blowout, just called it quits. She seems pretty happy with it."

"What aren't you telling me, Hal?" Ranger, always the perceptive one, asked.

"She told us she has a date tonight. Took off an hour ago to take Lula shopping."

"Affirmative. We'll be landing around midnight."

Hal listened to the dial tone, sighed and thought sarcastically, "That went about as well as wearing a **kilt** in front of Grandma Mazur."

* * *

Lilting ethnic music drifted out of Raglan Road**, the **Irish** pub the party was at. It was a beautiful place, lit in an intimate manner. Dark, glossy wood made up the curving bar that took up a good third of the restaurant. A band was at center stage and a woman was doing an Irish jig on a table set in the middle of the floor. She and Lula made their way to the back where a party room had been reserved. Loretta greeted them enthusiastically and brought them to meet their dates. Shamrock didn't look anything like the red-headed **leprechaun** shed imagined him to be. Instead he was tall and handsome, not built like Ranger, but lean and hard. He reminded her of the Cirque du Soliel performers she'd seen once; all lean, sexy, strong muscle that had gotten there through hard work, not a gym. "I blow glass as a hobby," he stated. Confusion must have been written on her face, "Damn the **luck**," she muttered. "Do all men have ESP?"

Shamrock, belted out a huge laugh, "No, you just have a very expressive face. Hi, I'm Shane Doyle."

"Stephanie Plum. It's nice to meet you. Tell me more about glass blowing."

"It would be easier to show you than tell you. But, to address your earlier assessment, glass is very heavy and we use a heavy iron pipe to hold the blob of glass while we shape it. The glass must be kept in almost constant motion. It is wicked on the forearms and chest."

"I saw a display by Dale Chihuly once. It was amazing. I'd love for you to show me."

"Ah, yes, that man is truly special. His art is one of a kind. He did a great piece at the Arizona Botanical Garden a few years ago. Scattered pieces all over the garden that resembled the cacti it was interspersed with. Can I get you a drink? **Guinness**? Strongbow? Irish car bomb?"

They made their way over to the bar. Strongbow was a delicious cider beer, but they decided first to have an Irish car bomb. Holding the shot of Jameson and Baileys in one hand, and her glass of Guinness in the other, she laughed, "To getting to know each other. Cheers!" They clinked glasses, dropped the shot and chugged. She giggled. She was really enjoying Shane's company. It was going to be a fun evening.

Word count: 1100 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)

** Raglan Road actually exists in Orlando, Florida and is an awesome place with great beer, great food and a fabulous atmosphere. Oh, and the bread pudding is to die for!


	8. Chapter 8

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. Written for the March 2010 PP Women''s History Month Challenge and the BS St. Patrick's Day Challenge.

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 8--**

* * *

On a plane over Russia.

"Report." He demanded as Hal answered the phone. Hal briefly ran through accounts, surveillance, take downs, and outstanding bonds.

With a mental sigh, he asked, "Stephanie?"

"She's good, Boss. Since were shorthanded she's been mostly working with Hector. They've done several installs and she is picking things up quickly. She's been spending plenty of time on her own in the gun range and running with us in the morning. We're doing 10 miles now without issue." Hal paused briefly, but he immediately picked up on it. "Spit out Hal."

"Well, um, she, it seems she broke up with Morelli on Valentine's Day. No fight, no blowout, just called it quits. She seems pretty happy with it."

Getting frustrated, he questioned, "What aren't you telling me, Hal?"

"She told us she has a date tonight. Took off an hour ago to take Lula shopping."

"Affirmative. We'll be landing around midnight." He snapped his phone shut and dropped it in his lap.

A date? She broke up with Morelli two weeks ago and now she's on a date? With who? Fuck, he hated Russia. Not that Russia actually had anything to do with the Stephanie, he mentally amended, but it was a large target for his anger. He had to admit, he'd been distant with her. He hadn't seen her in over four months, three of which had been on this mission. Granted, he'd gone to Miami in part to escape. Her relationship with the cop had changed slightly since she helped track down the thieves. After she left Rangeman that night, she went to his house. She didn't stay overnight but something was different. Morelli had stopped yelling at her publicly and in general, their relationship seemed solid. So he had been slowly backing away from her to see what she would do; to see if her reaction to him had all been caused by his pressure, or if she'd initiate anything on her own. She never did and when she looked at him the sparkle in her eyes had lost some luster. She looked sad and he could almost see regret there. He thought if he got away for a bit he could gain some perspective on what exactly he wanted from Stephanie Michelle Plum besides his obvious, overwhelming physical attraction. And, perhaps, she'd miss him too.

It didn't take him long to figure out that, if she wanted him, he wanted everything with her. Yes, his life was dangerous, but his life was a walk in the park compared to the dangers she attracted all on her own. Plus, he concluded, they were stronger together than apart. Together, as partners, they could watch out for each other. Separated, he felt he was always one step behind and one day he might be too late.

On the stakeout, he'd started to plan how he'd start by gradually telling her things about himself. Just little tidbits here and there, nothing too fast because she'd immediately be suspicious. They already knew how well they worked and lived together. He wanted her to join his core team. They could use her unorthodox methods and her feminine touch. He also wanted to introduce her to his family. She'd briefly met some of them after the Scrog incident, but he wanted them to get to know her. He was even willing to let them tell her embarrassing childhood stories.

He didn't know what to think about her dating. Maybe she had run into an old friend and it was strictly platonic. Argh...screw this negative line of thinking. He was going to move forward with Operation Thaw, date or no date. Morelli couldn't best him and neither would this new guy. **Many an opportunity is lost because a man is out looking for four-leaf clovers**. He wasn't going to let anyone take away his opportunity.

* * *

"Hello ma'am. Yes, my name is Lance Johnson. I'm Marc Pardo's assistant. Yes, ma'am, the real estate developer. Uh, huh, yes. Well, ma'am were hoping to retain your services. Mr. Pardo is looking for a certain type of woman and because of his work and travel schedule, it is very difficult to use normal dating scenarios. Yes, ma'am. No, ma'am. Certainly, please email the contracts. Okay. Mr. Pardo will need to do several tests? Oh, I see. Uh, huh. Alright, can he do that online? He can? Okay, perfect, email the links for those as well. You too, ma'am. Yes, I'm sure well be talking soon. Alright, thank you. Have a good day."

Lester hung up the phone and flashed a huge grin at Ranger, "All set. Loretta will be emailing you the contracts and links to a bunch of online personality tests and stuff. You'll also have to go into their offices for a physical and blood work." Ranger started to protest but Lester interrupted, "They insist. It is for the safety of the women. They assure any woman who gets involved with them that a potential man is clean of all disease, drugs, etc. They also want a psych evaluation, but I think we can get around that one. We can fake all the online stuff if you want."

Ranger sat back in his chair to digest the new information. Did he want to fake the tests? No, he realized, he wanted to answer the questions honestly. Not as Marc Pardo would answer them, but as Ricardo Carlos Manoso would answer them. It would be good practice for being open and honest with Stephanie. Plus, as long as he had to go undercover it might be interesting to see who he'd get matched with. Not that it would change how he felt about Stephanie, but something about her had obviously changed while he'd been gone. **The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.** Apparently while he'd been gone, Steph had learned a thing or two.

Word count: 991 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	9. Chapter 9

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. Written for the March 2010 PP Womens History Month Challenge and the BS St. Patricks Day Challenge.

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 9--**

* * *

Very late that evening in Trenton.

She fought to open one heavy eyelid wondering why she was awake, well, sort of awake. "Unngh," she thought, "one car bomb too many." Car bomb, ha ha...that irony escaped her earlier. Oh, it hurt to laugh, even if it only came out as a whimper. Squinting in the darkness she tried to figure out what woke her up. Her breath caught as she realized Ranger was sitting in the dark corner in her chair. Her voice husky from sleep and alcohol, she murmured, "Ranger?"

In a heartbeat, he was crouched at the side of the bed gently running his finger down the side of her face, soothing her, "Shhh, carina, go back to sleep. I just wanted to see you. I've missed you."

She was starting to drift back to sleep enjoying his sweet gesture when she half groaned, half mumbled, "Tired, car bomb...Ranger, stay." His heart stopped for a moment when she said car bomb. Hal didn't say anything about a car bomb. He realized he hadn't seen her car in the lot when he pulled in. Determined to figure it all out later, he shucked his clothes, climbed in next to her and pulled her close.

She snuggled closer, settled her head on his shoulder and let out a happy moan. It made his heart soar and brought him peace as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

She woke up with little men hammering away on the inside of her skull. "Damn Irish," she thought. "**It's not that the Irish are cynical. It's rather that they have a wonderful lack of respect for everything and everybody.** Why else would they make such deceptively evil beverages?" She wondered briefly how she got home, until she remembered Lula's date, Morgan, was a teetotaler and had given them a ride home. When asked about it he said, "I'm allergic to alcohol." She was curious and asked him what kind of reaction he had. Grinning he said, "Whenever I drink, I break out in handcuffs." He was an absolutely outrageous flirt but he focused his talent on Lula and had her in stitches all night. She could tell they had really hit it off.

As she lay sprawled on her bed on her stomach, arms and legs spread wide, one leg tangled outside on top the covers, hair in a mess over her face, the realization that she could smell coffee slowly filtered into her brain. "Mm, coffee," she smiled, before she remembered her midnight visitor. "Ranger!" she thought and leapt out of bed. Or, she attempted to leap out of bed. It was more falling with style. No, not even that, it was a hung over, caught in the sheets, belly flop on the floor.

"Morning, Babe."

"Oh god, just shoot me now," she thought from the pile on the floor.

"Can't do that Babe," Rangers ESP kicked in as he scooped her off the floor, blankets and all. He settled her on his lap on the couch and handed her a couple Tylenol and a bottle of water. She accepted gratefully. "What happened to your car, Babe?"

"My car?" she questioned, confused. "Nothing. It's still at the pub."

Now it was his turn to be confused, "Last night, you mentioned a car bomb and then you asked me to stay."

"Oh!" she giggled and then abruptly stopped. She groaned, "Oooooh, that hurts still. No, not a car bomb; Irish car bombs. Way too many of them."

"Girls night out?"

She blushed, "Um, not exactly. I had a date. I, um, I broke it off with Joe a few weeks ago. Decided our relationship wasn''t going anywhere and I was tired of it. A good friend told me once I was involved in an unhealthy pattern of behavior."

Rangers blank face had dropped into place. He knew she had a date, but it still hurt to hear her say it out loud and verify that it wasn't platonic. On the other hand, he was proud of her for ending the merry-go-round that was Joseph Morelli. He simply nodded, "Proud of you Babe for taking that step." He then eased her off his lap. "I've got a meeting. I'll catch you later." And just like that, he was up and gone the door clicking quietly behind him.

Stunned, she tried to figure out what had just happened. One minute he was taking care of her and the next he had disappeared like smoke once again. Hmm, maybe he didn't like the fact that she was on a date. Or, maybe she thought sadly, there really wasn't anything between them but friendship. He had been gone for over four months after all. She sighed and headed in to catch a shower thinking, "This cryptic Ranger moment brought to you by the luck o' the Irish."

* * *

Marc Pardo and his assistant, Lance Johnson sat across from the impeccably dressed, Loretta Jacobs. She flushed when Ranger and Lester first came in, but quickly regained her professional demeanor. "Thank you for coming in on such short notice."

Lance responded, "No problem, ma'am. Mr. Pardo is anxious to get started."

"Yes, yes, of course. You're not going to believe the results actually. Based on the tests you emailed yesterday, we've found several good candidates for you; matching in the mid-70s. But we found one match that scored 96. I have never, in all my years here, seen such a high match. You, of course, have to complete your physical and psych evaluation before I can give you the information on the matches. After you look over the candidates, you can let us know which ladies you'd like to send your profile to."

"Ma'am," Lester began, "due to the sensitive nature of some of Mr. Pardo's work, we prefer to have our own psych evaluation."

Ranger, interrupted, "No, it is ok. Well do this by their rules, Lance." He was immensely intrigued as to who could have a 96% match to him. How could such a woman exist? What kind of person could she be? He'd learned long ago that **there are** **no good girls gone wrong only bad girls, found out**. For the first time ever, he was excited to finish a physical. He couldn't wait to see this woman's profile.

"Oh, and Mr. Pardo," Loretta called as he was headed out for his eval, "you're now code name: Enigma."

Word count: 1070 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	10. Chapter 10

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 10--**

* * *

Later that day.

"Yo."

"Miss Plum? That isn't a very polite way to answer the phone."

"Loretta? Oh, I'm sorry. Bad phone manners are a hazard of the job."

"Ok dear. I just wanted to call and ask how things are with Shane?"

"I had a great time last night. He is handsome and funny. We're going on a real date tomorrow. I don't know what we're doing yet. He said it was a surprise."

"Do you think he is your match? Or would you be interested in other possibilities?"

"Well, I really like him, but it is early to tell. Why?"

"We had a new bachelor join yesterday. You're a 96% match for him." Steph audibly sucked in her breath. "I know; it is quite amazing! I have never seen a score so high. Would you like to see the man's profile?"

"Yes, please!!"

* * *

"Hey, Tank, I need to talk to you."

"What's up Lester?"

"So some chick scored a 96% match at Exclusive Services to Marc Pardo."

"Ok, yeah, so?"

"So, Ric answered all the questionnaires honestly."

"Uh, huh, still not getting the point, Lester."

"Did you know that Stephanie had a date yesterday?"

"Yes. Again, what's the point Lester?"

"I decided we should find out who this 96% match was so I had Silvio hack their system."

"Uh-huh....getting bored, Lester."

"Ric's 96% match is Stephanie."

"Holy shit."

"Uh, huh. Think we should tell him?"

"Hell no! Let's see where this goes."

Word count: 245 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	11. Chapter 11

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. Written for the March 2010 PP Womens History Month Challenge and the BS St. Patricks Day Challenge.

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 11--**

* * *

Wednesday evening...

She disabled her alarm, did her Kelly Garret impression and collapsed on the couch. It had been a long day and she was exhausted. She was, however, very curious about her 96% match so she grabbed her laptop and booted it up.

Her first message was from Shane. "Hello, a cuishle. Sorry for an email instead of a phone call. Can we reschedule to Friday evening? Something has come up for tomorrow. Thanks!" Of course, she responded in the affirmative. She would have to ask what "a cuishle" meant.

The next email was from Exclusive Services. She opened it with some trepidation. She was excited but nervous at the same time. She liked the idea that someone could be her soul mate. She imagined it would be the kind of connection she felt with Ranger but on a more intimate level. A level she imagined she and Ranger could have if he'd ever be willing to open himself up to the idea of a relationship. "I am a butterfly emerging anew," she told herself banishing her Ranger longings. **She would rather stay positive and get 50 percent good results, than stay negative and get 100 percent bad results!**

Clicking on the attachment, "Enigma", she started browsing the information on her new match. Real estate developer, 32, divorced, one child, parents still living, several siblings. Interests were wide and varied. Maybe that was why his code name was Enigma. He sounded very interesting. She decided to send him the same letter she'd originally sent to Rebel and Shamrock. About to click send, she hesitated for a moment before removing the information about Bob. Since he'd been involved in several of her escapades, his barfing and pooping were famous. Enough of people around Trenton knew about how Brian Simon tricked her that she didn't want to give that info away. She had no idea of how connected to Trenton Enigma was.

Satisfied, she hit send and headed to bed.

* * *

Ranger glanced at the right hand corner of his computer screen as the new mail icon popped up announcing a new email from Exclusive Services. His almost smile appeared as he anxiously clicked it open. "New message from Butterfly attached."

Butterfly, he liked the sound of that. Butterflies were so delicate and yet amazingly strong. Monarch butterflies, for example, were known to fly for thousands of miles during their migration to and from Angangueo, Mexico. Stephanie reminded him of a butterfly in some ways. Beautiful to look at, yet strong and resilient. A tad bit flighty too, like a butterfly flitting from flower to flower, seemingly without direction. He shook his head slightly trying to dismiss his thoughts about Stephanie. Tomorrow he was initiating Operation Thaw. He was taking Steph along on a stakeout and he promised himself he'd answer at least half the questions she asked. Friday the guys were planning on going out for some drinks and dancing. He'd see if she wanted to go, too. Determining that it was a good start, he turned his attention to Butterfly's letter.

He mused as he read.

_"Hates to be told what to do.__ Well, that can be a good thing and a bad thing. He didn't want a meek timid woman. That was actually one of the things he loved the most about Stephanie. How she stood up to him when she felt it was warranted. She challenged him."_

_"Fiercely loyal.__ Another excellent trait in someone who could share his life."_

_"Equal partnership.__ 100% honestly. Ok, he recognized that as a weakness of his."_

_"Lies of omission.__ Again, he thought of Stephanie. He'd never outright lied to her, but he had allowed her to misconstrue certain things he had said. Could he really be 100% open with a woman? With anyone for that matter? The things he'd seen, the things he'd done. He had no need to fear hell; he'd been there. More than once, in fact."_

_"A pet hamster?_" He laughed out loud, read the part about not laughing, and laughed again.

_"A salad only kind of guy?__ Ok, he found that slightly insulting. Salad was delicious. It just needed to be done right. And, he was okay with fat, calories and flavor. It just had to be the right kind. On that front, as far as he was concerned, **only Irish coffee provided in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat**. That diet, unfortunately, no longer fit in his lifestyle."_

Again, the similarities between this woman and Stephanie were crazy. If he hadn't already had a psych eval, he might think he needed his head checked.

_"He loved the beach as well. The place Steph affectionately called the Bat Cave, was actually on the beach in Key Biscayne accessible only by boat. He also had purchased a safe house at Point Pleasant after he found out how much Stephanie loved the beach. He figured if he had to force her into a safe house outside of Trenton, having it at her favorite place might make things easier."_

_"Latin dancing was her favorite. Hmm, his as well. Ah see, the similarities to Stephanie were all in his head. In all the time he'd known her he'd never heard her express any interest in dancing and the only music she listened to was Metallica."_

He sat up straighter in his chair and began to type.

"Hi. I'm Enigma. Following your lead I'm also DHM ISO LTR but I have 1K. I've been divorced for nearly a decade and my ex has custody of our daughter. Due to the nature of my business obligations, I don't see her very often. That saddens me, but she has a loving home with her mother and adoptive father and I'm happy about that. Someday, if I meet the right person and circumstances permit, Id like to have another child, but I don't see that happening in the near future. I hope that doesn't scare you, I just want to be upfront and honest. Relationships are very difficult in my line of work, which is why I've contracted Exclusive Services. I see you have a career in law enforcement, so I'm going to assume relationships in your life are also complicated. Again, with your background, I'm sure you understand the need for discretion. You mentioned lies of omission. I think you'll agree that there are circumstances that require diplomacy. A delicate hand is often crucial in making good business decisions."

"I'm sure you're wondering why I'm hitting on these highly sensitive topics immediately. Allow me to explain. First, I am a very successful businessman. I don't say that to be vain. I don't enter any contract without being 99% certain of the result. This includes my contract with Exclusive Services. Second, they have a 98% success rate when the candidates have at least an 80% match. You and I have the elite status of being their highest match score ever. That tells me that you and I both have a lot riding on this and we shouldn't play coy with each other. I intend to be upfront and honest with you and I'm confident you'll be the same."

"Now, with the serious stuff out of the way, let me tell you a bit about myself...." He then proceeded to tell Butterfly about some of his childhood memories.

"I'm signing off for now, as it is quite late. I enjoyed your story about your Grandfather. Perhaps you could tell me your favorite childhood memory?" With that, he hit send and headed to bed.

Word count: 1265 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	12. Chapter 12

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. Written for the March 2010 PP Women's History Month Challenge (quote and use of challenge words) and the BS St. Patrick's Day Challenge.

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 12--**

* * *

Thursday morning...

She was lying on the beach basking in the warm sunshine when snowflakes started landing softly on her face. Snowflakes? What the hell? Hmm, why did the beach smell like Bulgari? Groaning, she realized the warmth was Ranger laying on top the covers, half covering her body while peppering her face with soft kisses. "Wake up, carina, time to run."

Turning her face into her pillow, he barely heard her muffled response, "No, don't wanna."

Pulling away her pillow, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her senseless. "We're going do this Babe, and it's going be good." He then stood up and stripped off all her bedding.

"Ah, you ass!" she shrieked and curled up into a tight ball. She could hear laughter from her doorway and lifted her head to see Lester and Tank. Dressed to run in gray tank tops and black mesh basketball shorts, the Merry Men certainly had the makings of one F I N E, fine looking football team. Yum. "Alright, alright, get out and I'll get dressed."

She glanced at the clock, 5:10 a.m. Five freaking ten in the morning??? **A best friend is like a four leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have.** It was a good thing she considered Ranger her best friend or else she'd get out her gun, shoot him and go back to bed.

* * *

He checked his email still smiling at the memory of Stephanie glowing from their ten mile run. He knew she thought she looked like shit, but to him she was sexy as hell with her face flushed from exertion and the crisp morning air, the hair that had come loose from her ponytail curling around her face, and her eyes sparkling bright blue like the morning sky.

He chuckled to himself remembering her comment to Lester. Lester had challenged her to a race the last two blocks back to her apartment and won. He did a victory dance and taunted her that men had always been first and her punishment was taking his place on surveillance. She smarted back, **"Sure God created man before woman, but then again you always have to make a rough draft before creating the final masterpiece**!" Lester grabbed her and tried to give her a noogie, but she used a couple moves Hector had taught her while they were gone and had him on his back before he knew it. Then she was the one doing the happy dance. When she sobered up she asked, "Surveillance when?"

"As soon as you get in, Babe."

"Okay. See ya in a bit." She gave them a finger wave and headed into her apartment.

A knock at his door, brought his attention back. "Enter."

"Hey Boss. Are we bringing Steph in on the Exclusive Services sting?"

'Nah, I want to keep this one quiet. Just the core team that is already involved." He glanced at the monitor and saw Stephanie pull in. "Let's have a meeting on it after I get back from surveillance."

* * *

"Hey, Tank, I need to talk to you."

"What's up Lester?"

"Do you think Ric has any idea about his match?"

"I have no idea. But he doesn't want her involved in the case. Only the core team that is already on board."

"Ok, so I was curious what was happening, so I had Silvio hack the account again."

"You did what???"

"She sent him a really cute email. Told him she wanted a long term relationship. Guess what he told her?"

"I don't think I want to be involved. The boss is going to kick. your. ass."

"Nah, he'll never know. He told her he wanted a long term relationship and maybe kids someday with the right person. What do you make of that?"

"That you're butting in where you don't belong. Now get out of my office."

* * *

"Babe." She knew what that 'babe' meant. It meant quit fidgeting. She couldn't help it. She was in a car, in close proximity to Ranger, her nerves were on overload because of Shane and her mysterious perfect match and, to top it all off, because she had been running late, she didn't get donuts or coffee.

"Babe! You have to stop twitching. This is day time surveillance. That means we are much easier to spot. You have to relax."

Expelling a huge breath, she groused, "It's boring. I need more coffee. I need a donut. Distract me!"

He shot her a huge wolf grin, "My idea of distracting would result in more car rocking, not less."

She turned twelve shades of red and pleaded, "Raannngeerr."

With a resigned look and a slight puff of breath equivalent to a full Jersey girl sigh he said, "Fine Babe. Ten questions, five for you, five for me, two passes."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Ok. Let me think." Whoa. Ranger was actually going to let her ask him five questions? And he'd answer them? She was stunned. What to ask? "Tell me about your family."

"That's not a question, Babe."

"Ungh, fine. What are the names and ages of your siblings?"

"Cecilia, 40, Sofia, 38, and Andrea and Alejandro, 35. My youngest brother, Roberto, died when he was 17 in a gang fight. I was in Pakistan at the time."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It is okay, Babe. It was a long time ago."

"Ok, next question. Have you ever had a pet?"

"Yes."

"Ranger!"

"Okay, yes, we had a honey colored, pure bred golden retriever named Sasha. She was beautiful and smart and took care of all us kids. We loved playing fetch with her. Three more questions, Babe. Make em count."

"What's your favorite thing to do with your nieces and nephews?"

"Sneaky Babe, asking the question like you already knew I had them. My niece is a lot like Angie, quiet and studious. She and I discuss books, politics and **history**. Her favorite topic at the moment is **women**'s **rights**. She has been reading about **Sojourner Truth** and has taken to quoting her "Ain't I a Woman?" speech when she thinks she is being treated unfairly by her father or Uncles. She says she wants to **contribute** to the **sisterhood** of **feminism**. Our discussions are interesting, to say the least. I have six nephews aged from nine months to 12 years. They love to engage in a game called "Tackle Uncle Ric." They try to sneak up and tackle me. Occasionally I humor them and give in."

"How often do you see your family?"

"I try to see them once a month. Only one more question."

"Why did you go to Miami?"

"Pass."

She didn't figure he'd answer that one. She'd have to file it away for later. "How do you define our relationship?"

"Pass."

She glared at him and huffed, "Fine. What is your favorite fantasy?"

"Sexual?"

"Is there another kind?"

"My fantasy involves hand cuffs, a shower rod and a naked woman." She blushed furiously. "Now, my turn and since you're already blushing, same question."

"My fantasy involves a secluded cabin on the beach during a warm, spring rain storm followed by a long soak in a hot tub."

"Interesting. How would you define our relationship?"

"Oh? So you're admitting we have one?"

"Babe." He expected her to dodge this one. Her answer surprised him.

"We have a great friendship. You're my best friend, Batman. I trust you implicitly."

"Where do you see yourself in the next year?"

"Deep questions, Batman," she teased. "I have no idea really. Now that I have steady income with Rangeman I've been saving quite a bit of money. I think I'm going to buy a small place out at Point Pleasant so I can go there any time I want to get away."

He nodded. "That is a good plan. Why did you break things off with Morelli?"

"I already answered that question once Ranger. I'm not going to go over it again! Pass!"

"Fair enough. You going to go back to him? You're just about to the end of your normal off stage."

"No! Were through!" She was starting to get annoyed with this line of questioning. "Only one more question Ranger."

"Who did you go on a date with?"

"Pass!"

"You just used your last pass. Last question, if you don't have any plans Saturday, would you spend the day with me?"

"Doing what?"

"Your turn to ask questions is over. Yes or no, Babe?"

"Yes."

* * *

The replacement team had shown up shortly after they finished their game. Ranger had meetings for the rest of the afternoon. She decided that it had been a long day and had headed home with the intent to take a nap. But now that she was home, she found herself puzzling over her day with Ranger. The whole day had been weird. He rarely woke her up with kisses, but the shocking part was the PDA in front of Lester and Tank. She was still stunned that he had not only allowed her to ask personal questions, but then had actually answered them. What in the world could he want her for on Saturday? He assured her it wasn't for a job. He reassured her three times that he was not sending her to a third world country for asking him personal questions. Then he told her to dress comfortable and suggested a couple items.

Shaking her head in confusion, she booted up her laptop to check her email. She was excited to see a response from Enigma. He wanted a long term relationship with a possibility of children. She'd have to do some serious thinking about how she really felt about that. Would she ever want children? The thought of having them with Joe made her blood run cold. But did that mean she never wanted them? No, she concluded, it didn't mean that. When she held Lisa and when Mary Lou's boys were born, she had felt a deep, primordial, maternal pull. Someday, if she found the right person, she'd want to have children with them.

Exclusive Services had a 98% success rate? Wow. She hadn't checked her facts like Enigma. That was amazing and scary. She felt like that was a lot of pressure. It also made her think of Shane. She was going to have to let him know Friday night.

Favorite childhood memory? That one was easy. She started typing.

"Enigma: Hi! Thanks for getting back right away. No, your honesty doesn't scare me. I'm glad to know these things up front. I never thought I wanted children. I was in a relationship where there was a lot of pressure to settle down and it always scared me. Ive been thinking a lot lately and it wasn't actually the thought of children that scared me, but the thought of being permanently tied to that man that scared me. Having children with the right person, the person who completes me, seems like the perfectly right thing to do."

"Yes, I do understand what you mean about diplomacy and delicacy. In the past I've tended to make rash decisions. It is a habit I'm working daily to change. So far it is a change that is serving me well."

"My favorite childhood memory is of a road trip my family made when I was thirteen. We have family that lives in North Dakota so my parents decided we'd drive there. We borrowed a friend's travel trailer, piled in the station wagon and headed west. It was so amazing to see the country. I didn't know such places existed. My dad loves cars made in America, so we stopped at the Ford factory in Detroit. We swam in Lake Michigan, toured a dairy farm in Wisconsin, and went fishing in Minnesota. But my most favorite was the Badlands of South Dakota. They were amazingly beautiful. It was wild and untouched. It felt free to be there. Without the lights from the city to block them out, the stars shone so bright. Ive never seen the sky look so big. I'd always wanted to fly, but laying there feeling cocooned by the sky, I felt as if I already was. One night there was a lightning storm. I can't even begin to describe how amazing it was to clearly see the streaks of lightning crack open the sky as they lit up the peaks and valleys."

"I've always loved storms. I sit out on the fire escape outside my apartment when it rains. I love the feel of the fresh rain soaking into my skin, plastering my hair down. Someday, I want to share my love of the rain with someone special and make love to them in it. Tell me, Enigma, what kind of special memories would you like to make? Hope to hear back from you soon. Good night, Butterfly."

Satisfied with her response, she clicked send and went to bed.

Word count: 2158 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	13. Chapter 13

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money.

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 13--**

* * *

Friday...

Behind the privacy of a closed door, he flopped in his chair and loosened his tie. Some days he hated client meetings. Looking at his computer he noticed the new mail icon. With a smile he clicked open the program. "New Message from Butterfly attached."

Quickly he read through her message.

_"Make love in the rain? That had to be a coincidence right? How many women could have a fantasy of making love in the rain? Well, Steph hadn't actually said having sex in the rain. She said a secluded cabin, but he figured it was implied."_

He started to type a response: "Butterfly, your favorite memory was beautiful. I have always loved lightning storms. Perhaps someday I can help you make your rain filled dream come true. In my line of work I have traveled the world. Someday, I would like to take the woman I love to Greece. The Aegean Sea is beautiful with the richest color blue I've ever seen in nature. I'd like to keep her up for a night of passion and then sit on the beach together to watch the sun rise."

"Do you have a best friend, Butterfly? Would you tell me about her? Looking forward to your reply, Enigma."

He clicked send and turned his attention to paperwork.

* * *

After starting a new search she thought she'd take a quick break to check her email. The new message from Enigma had her smiling.

"Enigma, hello! I've never been to Europe. I'd love to sit on the beautiful white beaches in Greece. Yes, I have a best friend. Well, two in fact. My best girlfriend and I grew up together since we were toddlers. We know all each others secrets. We've shared punishments and pleasures, new loves and heartaches, tragedies and new lives. I love her with all my heart. My other best friend is very special. He is my mentor and co-worker. He is always there to catch me when I fall. He has saved my life more times than I can count, literally and figuratively. He usually calls me on my bullshit. In my crazy life, he is my rock."

"Tell me, Enigma, what accomplishment are you most proud of? Talk soon, Butterfly."

She sent the message and turned her attention back to her searches.

* * *

He read Butterfly's latest message and sucked in his breath. There was no fucking way! Could Butterfly be his Babe? Nah. Well, shit, maybe. He was going to have to find out.

"Butterfly, my greatest accomplishment could also be considered by biggest disappointment. After a turbulent childhood I joined the army. I accomplished a lot and I am proud of the services I have provided to my country to help keep its citizens safe. On the other hand, in war you see many horrific things. These things have shaped my life and forced me to make changes that only other soldiers could ever understand."

"Tell me, Butterfly, whats your biggest dream? Thinking of you, Enigma."

* * *

The new mail icon popped again and she anxiously clicked on it. Reading Enigmas message, she frowned. Hmm, even incognito she attracted military types. What was up with that? Maybe that's why his code name was Enigma. Her 96% match seemed to be a multifaceted man. She was anxious to learn more about him. She wondered when Exclusive Services would want to set them for Step 3: meeting in person.

"Enigma, I keep learning interesting things about you. Ill tell you my biggest dream if you tell me yours."

"I've always wanted to fly. When I was a kid I thought I was Wonder Woman. My best friend tried to talk me out of it, but I grabbed my lasso of truth and my red cape and jumped off the roof. For a few glorious seconds, I flew. Of course, then I broke my arm and got grounded, but I never forgot how it felt. And _that_ is my biggest dream. To find something in my life that will give me that glorious feeling of flying. I don't mean literally flying necessarily. I mean that satisfying feeling of being happy with who I am, where I'm going and what I'm doing with my life."

"I've recently made some changes that are helping me accomplish that. My whole life has been dictated for me and I've fought it, often unsuccessfully, every step of the way. I mentioned earlier that I live in a close knit community. Unfortunately that means everyone knows your life, plans it for you and thinks they know what is best for you. Joining Exclusive Services was one of the recent steps I've taken towards flying and breaking free of expectations."

"So, Enigma, what is your dream? Waiting, Butterfly."

* * *

"Hey Tank?"

"What now, Lester?"

"Somethings up with the Boss and Beautiful."

"How do you mean?"

"They're both walking around with this dazed, dreamy look in their eyes. I think I'm going to have Silvio hack the account again."

"Like hell, you are!"

"Fine, fine, but I'm telling you, something is going on with them. You about ready to get out of here?"

"Yeah. Give me thirty minutes."

"I'm going to see if Steph wants to go with us."

* * *

Holy, fucking, crap, it was her. How the? What the? He sank back in his chair, stunned. What was he going to do? He knew his Babe well enough that she was going to have a fit about this. She'd either think it was just part of his cover, that he didn't mean any of it and had just been playing with her heart, again. Or, worse case scenario, she'd think he really was in pursuit of a relationship but didn't want one with her and had therefore lied to her when he said his life didn't lend itself to relationships. Oh yeah, he was in deep shit.

* * *

"Hey Beautiful. Taking off?"

"Hi Lester. Yeah, I'm headed home."

"Bunch of us are going out. Want to come?"

"Thanks, but no. I have a date."

"Oh yeah? With who?"

"None of your business."

"Fine, fine, if that's the way you want to play it." He pouted, "I thought we were tight?"

"Not about this. Sorry."

* * *

Arriving at the club, she spotted Shane waiting at a table across the dance floor. He stood up as she walked over. "A cuishle. So good to see you", he said, bending slightly to kiss her cheek and embrace her.

As he pulled her into the booth she asked, "What does that mean?"

"Its Gaelic. It means my darling. You don't mind do you?"

"No. I just wondered what it meant." She looked at him. Did she tell him now and get it out of the way so they could enjoy the evening? Or if she told him, would it ruin the evening? Deciding her new attitude meant that she needed to stay out of denial and be honest, she took a deep breath, "Shane, I need to tell you something."

He quirked an eyebrow at her. Damn! Could every cute guy do that? "Exclusive Services matched me to another guy. It was an unheard of 96% match." He gave a low whistle. "I feel obligated to pursue it. They said they've never had a match so high."

"Well, I can't say I'm not disappointed, a cuishle, but I cant see you passing up that opportunity either. I don't think I would. You may have found your soul mate."

"I really like you. Can we still get to know each other and be friends?"

"Yeah, absolutely! I still want to teach you about glass blowing. Let's order and then dance while we wait for our food. The band is going to be starting in about 10 minutes."

* * *

In an attempt to get his mind off his suddenly complicated life, he decided to join the guys on their evening out. As soon as they stepped into the club, he felt her presence. Sure enough she was in the arms of a tall, dark haired man doing the salsa. The midnight blue dress she wore whispered around her thighs as she swung her hips. "Her date," he thought furiously. "Must be a guy from Exclusive Services." He made his way over to the bar and growled, "Tequila" at the bar tender. "Three shots."

Tank watched him wordlessly and motioned to the bartender to start a tab. He downed the shots straight, his eyes never leaving the couple on the floor. The song ended and they stayed on the floor as the band started a tango. Resolved, he made his way across the dance floor towards them.

* * *

She felt a tingle up her spine and looked up to meet Rangers intense gaze. "May I cut in?" he asked. Shane looked at her and she gave a slight shrug. He stepped back and Ranger put his hand out to her. Her body started to hum to the beat of the music as she did a caminita towards him. He then pulled her close and she wrapped her leg around his waist as he moved her in a calesita. They then moved into the complicated boleo. His eyes were almost black with passion as he looked into her eyes, never once looking anywhere else, oblivious to the crowd gathering around them. He spun her away and turned his back to her. She kicked her leg back in a dip before pivoting to hug his back and move into a gancho, sliding her thigh up his until it reached his hip. As he turned in her embrace, she feigned back as he stalked her across the floor. She went down on one knee in a submissive position before him and he grabbed her hand pulling her up and spinning her into his chest. He deftly slipped his leg between hers and pulled their hips tight, while dipping her so low her head almost touched the floor. He then pulled her up and around again, her back to his front and they moved across the floor in a corrida. He spun them again, moving their bodies backwards, but keeping her lead leg behind until she was practically lying on his thigh, her nipples grazing his leg. The song ended as he flipped her again and they stood panting against each other, touching from groin to chest. "Wow," she gasped as he pulled her up amid applause from the crowd.

He was equally affected. "Didn't know you danced, Babe."

"I love to dance, Ranger. You never asked."

"Guess I better let you get back to your date". He reluctantly let go of her, "Thanks for the dance."

She watched him walk away before heading back to Shane. "What was that?" He asked stunned.

"That," she answered a little wistfully, "was my boss."

"Hmm, seemed like more than that to me."

Glancing once more in Rangers direction, "Yeah, but unfortunately it isn't."

Word count: 1819 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	14. Chapter 14

Rated: M for language and some sexual insinuation. Not mine, not making any money. Written for the March 2010 PP Women's History Month Challenge and the BS St. Patrick's Day Challenge.

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 14--**

* * *

After the Tango....

It took every ounce of willpower he had to walk away from her; her cheeks were flushed with desire, her eyes as dark as her dress, her taut nipples visible through the thin material. He knew she had to have felt his cock hardening as she ground her pelvis into his. "Tequlia," he ordered again and shot it down just as fast as the first three. Tank didn't say anything; just looked at him with questions in his eyes.

Before he could say anything, Lester came up on his left and slapped him heartily on the back, "Holy fuck man! I had no idea Steph could move like that. That was so freaking hot. I'm glad we do the security here. We've got to pull that tape!" Without a word, Ranger turned to his left so that Lester's arm slid off his shoulders and punched him in the face. He slipped to the floor out cold.

Tank continued to eye his reflection in the bar mirror. "What?" he growled. Tank shrugged. "I'm outta here."

"You've had too many to drive. I'll take you." He acquiesced. Tank was right.

When they were a couple blocks away, Tank spoke again, "Want to tell me whats going on?"

"Not really." He sighed. A real sigh. It was an obvious sign of his overindulgence and the severity of his issues. "I love Stephanie."

Tank laughed out loud. "Tell me something I haven't known for the last two years."

"You're an ass, you know that? You were an ass when we were kids. You were an ass when we were in basics. You were an ass when you were my commander. You were an ass when we were in the Rangers. You were an ass when I was your commander. And you're an ass now."

"Yeah, and you love me anyway, Ric. Now are you really going to explain what is going on or not?"

"Stephanie is a client of Exclusive Services. I have no idea how long. I'm assuming since she broke up with Morelli."

"Oh. I see." Tank was chuckling on the inside at Ranger's discomfort. "How do you know? Did she tell you?"

"Not exactly." He ran his hand through his hair. "She's Butterfly. She's my match."

"Explain."

"We've been corresponding as mandated by the service. I asked questions, she answered. She asked questions, I answered. A few of her answers were too Stephanie to be a coincidence. In her profile she talked about a pet hamster, her love of donuts and pineapple upside down cake and her hatred of salad. Then she described her best friend and talked about jumping off the roof because she thought she was Wonder Woman and wanted to fly. No way could it be anyone but her."

"So, that's good. You guys already care about each other, now its been confirmed by semi-scientific tests."

"If only it were that simple. A year or so ago things got uncomfortably serious between us and I told her I didn't do relationships, marriage or children. At that time I wasn't ready for anything else and she was rebounding from Morelli. She's not going to react well when she finds out that Marc Pardo and Ricardo Manoso are one and the same. No matter how I explain it to her, all she is going to see is that I deceived her."

"You love her and she loves you. You'll work it out."

"Thanks a whole fucking lot, ass."

* * *

She didn't see Ranger after their dance, but the Rangeman crew was still there. Lester came over about thirty minutes after their plates were cleared. He was sporting a new shiner. "Les, what happened to your face?"

He gave her a crooked smile, "I ran into a fist."

"You sticking with that story?"

"Yep."

"I thought we were tight?" Steph threw his earlier words back at him.

He returned the favor, "Not about this."

She frowned at him, and then turned to Shane, "Shane, this is one of my coworkers, Lester Santos. Lester, my date, Shane Doyle."

They exchanged pleasantries before Lester asked her to dance. It was a slow dance that enabled them to talk as they moved around the dance floor.

"So what _was_ that with you and the Boss?"

"I don't know. He asked me to dance. I danced."

"Oh really? Would you dance with me like that?"

"Uh."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. What's going on with you and Ireland over there?"

"Ireland? You mean, Shane? We're friends. We were introduced through a mutual friend. We went out, we had fun. We're friends. Like you and I are friends, Lester."

"You wound me Beautiful."

"Yeah well, **you see a lot of smart guys with dumb women, but you hardly ever see a smart woman with a dumb guy**." She laughed as they moved off the dance floor. "You're Irish, Shane?"

"Yeah, you didn't guess by my as-Irish-as-you-can-get-name?"

"No, I had no idea. I thought all Irish were red headed, green eyed and fair skinned."

"No, not all of us. I'm what you'd call a Black Irish and that's because of my dark heart, not my complexion. **In Ireland, the inevitable never happens and the unexpected constantly occurs.** Kind of like you, a cuishie. My ancestors were O'Dubhghaill, or dark foreigners, invaders. Our name was shortened to Doyle.

The conversation continued amiably until she got a text from Ranger. "Don't forget our plans tomorrow. Pick you up at 11:00."

"Shit." The guys looked at her curiously. "I forgot I'm spending the day with Ranger tomorrow. Its already after 1:00. I've got to go."

Lester was intrigued, "You're spending the day with Ranger?"

"Yeah," she said dismissively, "we were playing 20 questions the other day on surveillance and he asked me to spend Saturday with him if I didn't have any other plans. Wait? Do you know what we're doing?"

"You don't know?"

"No, he wouldn't tell me."

"Hmm, well, have fun."

She gave Lester a disgusted look, gave Shane a hug and promise to call later, and walked out the door.

* * *

"She's something else." Shane commented after she left.

"Yeah, we all love her a lot. Protect her like a kid sister." He gave Shane a pointed look. "How do you know her?"

"Met her through a dating service. Guess were not going to be anything more than friends, though."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"She told me she got matched with someone else. Almost a 100% match. She figured she had to pursue it."

"She say anything else about it?"

"No. Although after seeing the electricity between her and your boss, I'm trying to figure out why she is using a dating service."

"I don't know for sure. She hasn't told any of us that she is. I do know that her last boyfriend did a number on her confidence. Really didn't treat her like the angel she is."

"Yeah, she mentioned she loved to dance but hadn't been out in years; that's why I asked her out here. Not that you would have known watching her tonight. She was amazing. Must have been some piece of shit not to ever take her out."

"You think that's bad. Her ex-husband cheated on her."

"No! What kind of a dick would cheat on her smokin' hot ass?"

Lester laughed out loud, "A Dick would! That was her husband's name." He laughed some more. "So what are you going to do now?"

"The agency sent over a couple other matches earlier today. One was a woman who just moved here from Russia to go to school. We share a couple common interests. I think I might feel her out. See how we hit it off."

That peaked Lester's interest. "Russia, huh? Sounds interesting; some beautiful women there."

"Yeah. Get this, her code name is Liberty. I wonder what that means. They give us code names based on our personality or lifestyle. My code name is Shamrock because every business venture I touch succeeds."

"Huh, well, I better call it a night too. Nice meeting you. If you're going to be friends with Steph I' sure well see you around."

As Lester left, he pulled out his cell and called Tank.

"Hey Tank."

"Lester, do you know what time it is?"

"Yeah. Of course I do, I'm still up. Got some intel on the Service. Bombshell's match Shamrock was matched to a girl from Russia, code named Liberty."

"Get Silvio on it."

"Will do."

"Lester?"

"Yeah?"

"Don''t call me this fucking early unless its an emergency!"

"Who knew you sounded like Steph." Lester was still laughing as he heard Tank hang up.

Word count: 1446 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	15. Chapter 15

Rated: M for language and some sexual tension. Not mine, not making any money. Written for the March 2010 PP Women's History Month Challenge and the BS St. Patrick's Day Challenge.

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 15--**

* * *

Saturday morning....

He was a bit groggy when he woke and groaned when he remembered how quickly he'd slammed the tequila. He needed to be on his game today to make sure this stage of Operation Thaw went smoothly. He was glad the weather was going to be decent, crisp and sunny.

He stumbled past his office on the way to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water and went back to check his email. He was pleased to see a new email from Butterfly.

He typed, "Butterfly, if you'd asked me three years ago, I would have said I was living my dream. Traveling the world, making money, no ties to anything or anyone. But, a little over two years ago I met a person who became my best friend. That person got me to thinking that maybe if I made some small changes, my life could lend itself to a long term relationship with a beautiful girl. That maybe, I could be a happily ever after type of guy. I resisted! Believe me, I've resisted. But, my friend keeps wearing on me. Giving me glimpses at the wonderful ways my life could change. The new adventures I could have as a "we" not an "I". So, Butterfly, my dream is to someday soon, very soon, be able to break free of my self-inflicted solitary lifestyle and embrace a woman who wants to fly with me."

* * *

She was putting on the last of her makeup when she heard her locks tumble. Since he'd given her absolutely no clue where they were going she was wearing a pale blue cashmere sweater with slim fitting cream pants and sensible shoes. "Looking beautiful, Babe." The voice from the doorway announced Ranger's arrival.

"Thanks!" she said as she started to sweep past him. Just as she reached his shoulder, she stopped turned slightly and dropped a kiss on his cheek, before continuing into the living room. He stood there stunned for a moment. She never took the lead and kissed him. He felt his heart melt a little.

Following her into the living room, he watched her tuck things into her purse: gun, stun gun, hand cuffs, keys, lipstick, breath mints. She shrugged on her coat and stood in the foyer, "Ready?" He nodded and made for the door, but paused to make a small detour to her lips. He wrapped his arms around her, one hand on the small of her back, fingers resting lightly on her ass, urging her hips against his; the other between her shoulder blades, gently pressing her chest into his. Instinctively, she dropped her purse and raised her arms loosely around his neck. He relaxed against the wall behind him causing her to lean into him, melding together from chest to knee. His lips were soft, warm and insistent as they moved against hers. The flavor of Ranger combined with cool mint, assaulted her senses as his tongue teased into her mouth. He groaned as her tongue joined his and she could feel the evidence of his arousal against her. He kissed her for a moment longer before his arms tightened around her and he pulled his mouth away, kissed her forehead and turned his head slightly to rest his cheek against it. Her chest was heaving against his as she tried to regain her breath. Little puffs from him were causing the small curls around her face to tickle her ears as he too, tried to regain his control. He murmured against her, "Dios, Babe." Squeezing her tight once more, he pushed away from the wall, "As much as I would prefer to do this all day, we're going to be late."

As they settled into the Turbo she asked, "Going to tell me where we're going yet?"

"Not quite yet."

"Are we going to be driving for a while?"

"Yes."

"Can we stop and get coffee then?"

They pulled into a Starbucks on the outskirts of Trenton and she treated herself to a caramel macchiato. He got an Americano. "Polluting the temple today?" she teased.

"Today is not a temple day," he responded, the corners of his mouth tilted up slightly. "However, an Americano is just a shot of espresso with hot water added to it. Not really any different than regular drip coffee except for a slightly different flavor."

"Oh," she said sipping her decadent drink. "So, now will you tell me where we are going?"

"Newark. I'm taking you to meet my family."

"What! Why?" she went instantly from shocked to confused.

"You told me the other day you considered me your best friend. I think of you the same way. My best friend should meet my family, don't you think?"

She couldn't fault his logic, but it was very uncharacteristic behavior from the man of mystery. "What's with all this sharing lately? Doesn't giving information to the enemy apply to you too?"

He frowned at her, pulled over to the side of the road and turned to look at her, "You're always trying to get me to share information with you. When I was in Miami I did some thinking. Since I met you, you've never been anything but loyal and trusting. You've defended me, defended my men, never judged any of us. I figured if you were really my friend, then I should try to be as open with you as I am with Tank. Do you not want to meet my family, Babe?"

"Yes! I'm sorry, I was just teasing about the information to enemy. I'm touched you want me to meet your family." She was flushed and embarrassed and just a bit afraid he was going to turn around and take her back to Trenton.

Flashing her a 100-watt smile, he pulled her towards him and kissed her thoroughly. "I'm not taking you back to Trenton." He pushed her gently back into her seat and pulled back out on the road. "Stupid ESP," she thought.

He flipped on some light jazz and settled into his zone and she quickly fell asleep.

* * *

"Babe," he shook her awake. "We're here." Here was a modest blue split level home, with what appeared to be a large, fenced backyard.

Stretching and yawning, she asked, "Where's here?"

"My parent's house. Most my family is here today." He opened the car door for her as two petite women stepped out onto the porch. "Hmm, apparently mom radar isn't a Burg thing," she thought.

"Babe, one thing," he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to his side, "at work I'm Ranger, at home I'm Ric." He dropped his head, kissed her temple and murmured into her ear, "And when were intimate, I'm Carlos." She couldnt stop the shiver that ran up her spine and he grinned at her.

"Mama, you remember Stephanie?" She had been briefly introduced to Rangers, no she amended, Ric's mother and father when he was recovering from the Scrog shooting. "Hello, Mrs. Manoso. Pleasure to see you again."

"Call me Marissa, my dear," she pulled Stephanie out of Ric's arms and into hers. "Welcome. Were so glad you're here. This is Ric's abuela, Rosa." She was pulled into another strong embrace. "Bienvenida hija." The next thirty minutes were a whirlwind as she was introduced to Ric's brother and sisters, his niece and nephews and a myriad of aunts, uncles and cousins. Dazed she found herself on a couch with a pair of serious brown eyes watching her. "Hi," she said softly.

"Hi. I'm Hope. Well, its actually Esperanza, but I like it better in English." Ah, that explained why she didn't remember being introduced to anyone named Hope. "I'm Cecilia's daughter."

"Oh, right. Sorry, lots of names. You're the one that has been researching Sojourner Truth, right?"

The girl giggled, "Uncle Ric told you? You should have seen his face when I started into her speech. I think the notion that I considered myself a woman and was growing up totally freaked him out. He'd like to think that I'll always be his sobrinita." Suddenly serious, she asked, "Are you Uncle Ric's girlfriend? Hes never brought a girl here before."

"Um, no. We work together. We're just really good friends." Without warning, Hope was pulled over the back of the couch yelling, "Put me down!"

Ric threw her over his shoulder and started tickling her. "You telling stories on me, sobrinita?"

"No, never, put me down!" Hope started beating her small fists on Ric's back, giggling.

"Unh, uh, I don't believe you. Better say Uncle."

"Never!" The tickling intensified and Hope started shrieking between giggles. "Never. Stop. Ahhh. Fine. Tio. Tio." He dumped her on the ground and grinned at Steph. "It's time to eat."

* * *

She was back to sitting on the couch after supper thinking about the meal. She had never seen this side of Ranger. Had never even imagined such a side existed. He was so relaxed. He laughed with his siblings and teased his nephews. He teased his mama as well, but it was obvious he loved her very much. He was very respectful of his father and you could clearly see the pride in his father's eyes. Her heart melted when he rocked his nephew to sleep so his sister could eat. And, it was obviously not a temple day because he ate some of everything his mama put on the table. There was homemade tortillas, pork, chicken, beef, empanadas, bean dishes, fresh vegetables, tropical fruit, and for desert, cake called Tres Leches. It was sinfully delicious. Ranger had two pieces. Her eyebrows almost shot off her head when he got the second piece. He grinned at her, "This is my pineapple upside down cake. The best cake in the world! Gotta get it while I can!"

The couch dipped, as someone sat down beside her. She looked up and smiled at Ric's father, Ricardo. "Hello."

"Hola, querida. Mind if I sit?"

"Of course, not!"

"It is nice to see you again under better circumstances. It seems you and Ric have gotten quite close. He has told us much about you and I know he cares for you deeply. My nieta was right earlier, my son has never brought a woman here. I know my son does not share much about himself. Would you like to see some pictures of his childhood?"

"Ricardo, Ric and I are just friends." He gave her a look that said he didn't believe a word she said. "But, yes, Id love to see pictures."

They sat for over two hours with Ricardo showing her pictures and telling her stories about young Ric. When the pictures reached about age twelve she started seeing people who looked familiar. "Is that Tank and Lester?" she questioned.

"You mean Pierre and Lester?" Ricardo grinned. "Yes, Pierre's family moved into the neighborhood that summer. Lester is Ric's cousin, my sister Lucy's son."

Ric's voice came from behind her, "Don't let him ever hear you call him Pierre, Babe." Walking around the couch and settling in next to her, he teased, "Trying to completely ruin my image, Papa?"

"Never!" he laughed. She excused herself to use the bathroom while the two of them talked. On her way back, she passed an open bedroom door. She couldn't help but peek in and was pleasantly surprised to find herself in what was obviously Rangers bedroom. It was a mix of childhood memories and teenage boy. The bed was made and an obviously well loved bear sat against the pillow. He had mismatched button eyes. His threaded nose and mouth were worn, possibly from loves and kisses. His soft, light brown fur was worn thin in places and a patch of denim was over his stomach probably repairing some accident. She pictured little Ric dragging along Mr. Bear and smiled to herself.

A long shelf was filled with trophies of every kind: football varsity, jujitsu, track long jump, junior year, spelling bee 3rd grade, student of the year 5th grade, Honor Society freshman year. Some of those must have been from before he'd gotten mixed up with the gangs and some must have been from Miami.

Posters filled the walls: Michael Jackson performing at the 1993 super bowl, a movie poster of Salma Hayek from Desperado, a poster of Cindy Crawford, the Miami Dolphins. Pictures filled another shelf: Ranger with his sisters and brothers, pictures with Tank, Lester and other boys, and one that must have been taken right after he enlisted. Warm arms came around her and Ranger rested his chin on her shoulder, "Snooping?"

"Sorry, not on purpose. The door was open." She put the picture back.

"It's ok. That was taken right after I finished basics."

"You look so young."

"I had just turned twenty."

"Thanks for bringing me here today."

"Happy to. My family..." Whatever he was about to say was lost as they were suddenly attacked from behind and drug down. Ranger cradled her carefully to be sure she wasn't hurt as they crashed to the floor. Happy boys danced around them chanting, "We got Uncle Ric. We got Uncle Ric."

"You should be..." she started.

"Don't say it," he growled as he pulled her up. He gave her a quick kiss and said, "Excuse me for a moment." Then, he was out the door. Bangs, bumps and shrieks could be heard down the hall, along with Marissa yelling, "Take it outside, boys!"

She made her way outside to see Ranger with one small boy tucked under each arm, while two more tried to tackle his legs. One of them got a well placed hit to the back of his knee and they all went down in a pile, tickling and laughing.

* * *

It was late when Ranger dropped her back off at her apartment. "Thanks again for today," she said. "You coming up?"

'You're welcome. I enjoyed having you along. And no, not tonight. Some time sensitive intel came in on a case and I have to get back."

"Ok." As he pulled out of her lot, she thought it was probably for the best that he didn't come up. Her thoughts about Ranger were all jumbled up right now. He was being so, so not Ranger with her. Opening up about his family, his personal life. Acting human. She didn't know what to make of it. Add to that her budding relationship with Enigma. She felt a bit guilty about pursuing things with Enigma when Ranger was being so open with her. On the other hand, while he'd given her a few bone-melting kisses, an amazing tango and some personal information, nothing else had changed. Looking at it that way, she'd be silly not to find out more about someone who was almost a 100% match for her. But then again, a match was just something on paper, some scientific test, how could it possibly know what her heart knew. How could it be a substitute to the obvious chemistry between her and Ranger. Well, she decided, she was going to push this new honesty thing with Ranger a bit and see just how much more he'd open up to her. In the meantime, she was going to work harder to get to know Enigma and push for their first meeting in person.

That settled in her mind, she figured she'd better check her email. "New message from Enigma attached." Excited she opened it and read.

_"My life could lend itself to a relationship. Hmm, that sounded familiar. Wonder who this person was that he met. He wants someone to fly with him!"_

She sat down and typed a response, "Enigma, sounds like you met a smart person. **Perseverance is failing nineteen times and succeeding the twentieth**. Maybe your best friend just hit number 20? It makes me happy to know that you want to find someone to fly with you. I want to know more about you. Can you tell me some more about your childhood? Good night, Butterfly."

Thinking that **a good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book**, she headed to bed.

Word count: 2692 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	16. Chapter 16

Rated: M for language and some sexual tension. Not mine, not making any money. Written for the March 2010 PP Womens History Month Challenge (counts as two) and the BS St. Patricks Day Challenge.

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 16--**

* * *

Back at Haywood....

"Boss on his way, Tank?"

"Yeah, just left Steph's."

"You know he took her to meet the family today?"

"Really? Why weren't you there?"

"Thought it might feel too much like Alice falling through the rabbit hole, if I was. A little too twilight zone."

"Probably. You know she is going to be so pissed when she finds out that Enigma is Ric."

"Changing your mind on telling him that we know?"

"Hell no. Just thinking out loud."

He picked that moment to come strolling into the meeting, "Report." It was nearing six a.m. in Russia, perfect time to get briefed by Ram.

"Yo, Boss," Ram's voice sounded tinny and small on the speaker phone. "Interesting stuff going on here. The daughter of one of the deputy prime ministers is missing. I'm certain that she is the woman they are holding in the isolation chamber. I can't go in there or they will be suspicious. Standard sensory deprivation. I think they are using REST* on her to try to convince her she is someone else. My understanding is they're shipping her stateside in a little over a week."

"Any closer on figuring out who the players are here? Our infiltration hasn't turned anything yet."

"I know it isn't the main woman there, Loretta. Popov likes to brag about what a dumb cyka** she is for allowing his staff to slip in under her nose."

"Ok, good Ram. We'll concentrate our efforts lower on the food chain. Report again in twenty-four hours."

* * *

She awoke to an insistent pounding on her door. Still half asleep, she drug herself to the door and threw it open to a nervous ball of energy.

"White girl, I didn't think you were ever gon'a open this door! Come on, get dressed, hurry, we gotta go shopping."

"Uh, ok, Lula. Why? Whats going on?"

"It's Morgan! We've got another date tonight! Just the two of us this time. We've been emailing and calling each other all week. I think...I think I luu...I think, oh, I think I need to sit down. I need donuts, and fried chicken, and pizza." Steph helped Lula to the couch before she could hyperventilate and pass out. "Steph! I've never felt like this about anyone. Not even Tank! And that man is F I N E, fine. But Morgan, he just gets me. It scares me."

"Lula, why did we join Exclusive Services? It wasn't just for a few dates. It was with the hope that we would finally find someone who loved us for the person we were on the inside, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, Morgan joined for the same reason. For whatever reason, he wasn't finding women who were interested in him for the person he is. Probably they were just interested in his money or his sexy, good looks. He wanted someone who got him for him. What was your match score, Lula?"

"Eighty-two!"

"Really, wow that is really high. Higher than my match score with Shane. See, nothing to worry about. If you're that high of a match and you're getting along so well in person, you're going to be okay."

"You're right, girlfriend. But, I still need to find something to wear tonight, so get your skinny ass in the shower and let's go!"

* * *

On the way to the mall Lula asked how things were going with Shane. "We're just going to be friends."

Lula, gave her a sharp look and took a page out of Rangeman's employee handbook, "Chapter 2 -- The One Word Response" and said, "Explain."

"Loretta called me the day after our group date and told me they had matched me with another guy. A ninety-six percent match, Lula! 96%! She said they'd never had such a high match. What kind of guy could be that high of a match for me? I decided it was an opportunity I couldn't pass by."

"You don't seem very happy about it."

"I am happy, but I'm also confused. His name is Enigma. And believe me, it suits him well. I think he is way more complex than our emails are revealing. I keep trying to ask different questions to get him to open it up more. I'm hoping we meet soon because I feel like we have a real connection."

"If you have a real connection, why are you confused?"

Heaving a sigh, "Lula, promise me, right now that you'll keep this totally to yourself or I won't say another word."

"Stephanie, I love you. You saved my life. If you want me to keep your secret, I will."

"Ok, good. I'm confused because I feel attracted to Enigma, but I care deeply for Ranger."

Lula snorted, "Care deeply? Is that code for "I love Batman"??"

"Do you want to hear this or not??" She huffed.

"Ok, sorry. But, we all know how you feel about Ranger."

"Yeah, well the problem is he doesn't feel the same way. At least that is what he says; you know his whole "I don't do relationships" crap. Well, anyway, the reason I feel confused is that he has been acting really strange since he got back. Opening up, answering my invasive questions and yesterday, yesterday he took me to meet his family. Said since we were such good friends that he should let me into his life the same way Tank is and he wanted his family to meet me."

"Whoa girl. That is some serious shit, taking you to meet the family."

"Is it really, Lula? Did he take me there in a "Meet the Parents" sort of way? Or just in a "Hey this is my good friend and coworker, Stephanie, and I thought you guys would like to know her" way?"

"What did it feel like to you?"

"It felt like the "Meet the Parents" way. They were so nice and welcoming. His grandmother called me hija. I'm pretty sure that means daughter." She stopped and stared out the window for a few minutes. "So, you can see, I'm very confused. Is Ranger trying to tell me something? Are a few personality tests and some scientific mumbo-jumbo more accurate than what my heart says? Am I being disloyal to my heart if I continue to pursue Enigma? Am I being dishonest to Enigma if I keep pursuing him knowing my heart belongs to another?"

"You know they say, **Never iron a four-leaf clover, because you don't want to press your luck**. I think you're coming close to pressing your luck here, but until Batman opens up more or actually makes a move I think you're okay to keep pursuing Enigma."

"Ha," she scoffed, "you know **if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want done, ask a woman**. Rangers not going to actually make a move unless I put the pressure on him for a change."

As her words sunk in she had a revelation. She thought, "I wonder if that is what Ranger was waiting for? He's always done the pursuing, the stolen kisses in the alley, breaking into my apartment. Sure I reciprocated, but I've never initiated. After I helped him find those kids that were messing with his business, things were going better with Joe and Ranger started backing off. I wonder if he was waiting for me? Waiting to see if I wanted him enough to make a move or if I'd just keep riding the wind, reacting instead of acting, content to let everyone else make my decisions." She gave herself a mental head slap, "Of course that is what he was doing. I wasn't willing to put my heart on the line for him because I wasn't sure what he wanted from me. Why would I expect him to put his heart on the line when I kept going back to Joe? Holy shit, I'm an idiot. Now, what the heck am I going to do about Enigma?"

Pulling up in front of Macys, Lula said, "Girl, you're depressing me. **When women are depressed, they eat or go shipping. Men invade another country. Its a whole different way of thinking**. Now lets stop thinking about your men and find me a hot dress and some sexy shoes for MY man. Then you owe me lunch for listening to all this!"

* * *

Later that night...

He read Butterfly's last email and pondered how to respond. He wanted to tell her something to help her understand how his childhood had helped shape the person he was today.

"Butterfly, I told you I live a solitary life, I want to tell you a story that will hopefully help explain part of the reason I do. When I was six I fell head over heels in love with a sweet little girl that lived down the block. We were in class together. I met her on the sidewalk everyday and carried her books and lunch while we walked to school. We ate lunch together, played together; everything we could do together, we did. One day we were swinging in the park and she told me she wanted me to have something special from her. She reached up and pulled her favorite hair pin out of her hair and handed it to me. It was a beautiful butterfly clip that had been given to her by her grandmother. Its wings were deep emerald green and tipped with royal purple. I knew how much it meant to her so I gave her something of equal importance to me, my teddy. My grandmother had made him for me. He had light brown, slightly curly fur and mismatched button eyes. Next to her, he was my best friend. A week later I was waiting on the sidewalk for her, but she never came. For three days, she never came. Finally, the next day after school her dad came to our house. My bear was in his arms. He had a tear across his stomach and his stuffing was poking out. Turned out a few days after I gave her the bear she had been in a car accident with her grandparents. None of them survived. My grandmother put a denim patch on my bear and fixed him, but nothing could fix the sadness I felt at the loss of my friend. She was the first woman that was taken from me."

"I was in Iraq when I got the paperwork from my wife asking for a divorce. It was totally out of the blue and I was crushed. She was accusing me of abandonment and wanted the divorce rushed as she was already preparing to remarry. She was the second woman that was taken from me. When I returned stateside, my ex-wife was demanding I let her husband adopt our daughter. Due to some extenuating circumstances that I wont burden you with now, I had to agree. So, my daughter ended up being the third woman taken from me. I wasn't sure how much more heartbreak I could handle, so over the years I have taken great efforts to reduce the risk to my heart."

"I've recently found that, with the right person, I'm willing to risk my heart again. Perhaps, Butterfly, that person is you. I look forward to hearing back from you soon. Dulces suenos***, carina, Enigma.

Word count: 1886 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)

* REST Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy  
** Bitch  
***Sweet dreams


	17. Chapter 17

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money.

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 17--**

* * *

Monday morning, Rangers apartment...

Now that the A-Team had returned, with the exception of Ram, her days had returned to a familiar routine: running with Ranger, Tank and Lester in the morning, defensive maneuvers with Tank after her run, searches for the rest of the morning. The only change that stuck was working with Hector. They still partnered up in the afternoon to do installs. He was also helping her learn Spanish while she helped him improve his English. Next time Ranger whispered sweet nothings in her ear she wanted to know what he was saying!

This morning was no exception to the routine. Her thoughts were on the weekend as she stepped out of Rangers shower and toweled off. She hadn't checked her email yet to see if Enigma had responded to her and she was still unsure of what to do. What she did know for certain was that she loved Ranger. She had no ties to Enigma. He only knew her by her code name. That was part of the deal with the service; getting to know someone with some anonymity. That way, if they didn't hit it off, no one was hurt, they just said good bye and went their separate ways. Wrapping her towel tight, she headed to the closet to grab some clothes. As she was dressing she heard Ranger come into the apartment and toss his keys in the tray by the door. She came to a decision; she was going to see if her theory with Ranger was right. She was going to apply some pressure and see how he reacted. If he reacted how she hoped, shed break things off with Enigma. If he didn't, she'd back off and just continue to be his friend. He really was her best friend and shed rather have his friendship than nothing at all.

* * *

He knew she was in his shower. He'd watched the security feed and saw her on the elevator after her workout with Tank. He had been very disappointed not to have any response from Butterfly that morning. Maybe he had opened up too much. Or maybe, Saturday was a resounding success. He knew how loyal she was. She wouldn't stand for someone cheating on her and she wouldn't cheat on someone. Maybe she was backing off of Enigma because of the efforts he was making. He allowed himself a smile at the thought. He was grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge when he heard her behind him. "Hi," she said softly.

He turned around, "Babe."

She was only a half step away from him, chewing her lip nervously, "Thanks again for this weekend. I had a lot of fun. Your family is great."

"They really liked you."

"I'm glad." Something was off about her. He was about to ask her what was on her mind, when she threw her arms around him, stood up on her tip toes and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was soft and sweet. He started to put his arms around her, but she slid her hands from his shoulders down his biceps to his elbows and pushed them back to his side. She broke the kiss, smiled at him and said, "See you downstairs." Then she spun on her heel and walked out the door.

Stunned, he hesitated too long and by the time he got to the elevator it was already headed down.

* * *

She did a little happy dance in the elevator and had her back to the door shaking her butt when the doors slid open on five. She turned and looked up into Tank's smirking face, "Someone's in a good mood. Maybe we should go back to the gym and burn off some more of that energy?"

"I don't think so! You threw me around in the gym more than enough for one day, thank you very much! Besides, I've probably got searches stacked a mile high at my desk."

She stopped in the break room to grab a cup of coffee and ran into Lester. "Morning, Beautiful."

"Lester," she gave him a curt reply.

"Something wrong, Beautiful?"

"You've been holding out on me Lester."

Thinking about Exclusive Services and Enigma, he was suddenly nervous, "What are you talking about?"

"Ranger!" she spat. "You're his cousin! You knew where we were going this weekend and you didn't warn me Friday!"

Instantly relieved that she wasn't talking about the dating service, he looked contrite, "Sorry Steph. I didn't know for sure where he was taking you and he obviously wanted it to be a surprise. I didn't want to spoil anything."

"Yeah, well you are totally on my shit list, buster!" She took her coffee and stomped past him, headed to her cubicle. After settling into her first search she checked her email. She was happy to see a new email from Enigma. She read it once. Then she read it again. And just to be sure, she read it a third time.

_No freaking way!_ She thought about the brown, obviously well loved, bear that had been sitting on Ranger's bed. It matched the description of Enigma's bear perfectly. Then there was the fact that Enigma had called her carina. She recognized that as one of words Ranger murmured to her in Spanish. Hector had told her it meant darling.

Of course, it could totally be a coincidence. Surely lots of people had well loved teddy bears with mismatched button eyes. And darling was a pretty common term of endearment. Shoot, even Shane had called her darling. He'd just done it in Gaelic. Besides, why would Ranger use a dating service? He constantly had women falling at his feet. And why would he be pursuing a relationship through a dating service when he told her his life didn't lend itself to relationships. Of course, he could have just meant not a relationship with her. On the other hand, Enigma did say that he had recently started making changes, and if Ranger's sudden openness was any indication, he too had recently started making changes. Then there was the whole business about the ex-wife and his daughter. That also sounded eerily like Ranger's story.

Well, she was nothing if not ridiculously curious, and right now, she was REALLY curious. She frowned, what if Ranger was Enigma? How would he react when he found out she was Butterfly? Would he be disappointed? Happy? Did he already know it was her? She thought about the answers she'd given him in the emails and figured yeah, if he suspected it was her there was probably enough information in her emails to confirm his suspicions. She thought about the things she had shared with Enigma. They were things she'd never feel comfortable saying aloud. Why not? Because they were so personal. Sharing them with Enigma had been impersonal, safe, judgment free. She could share her feelings openly and honestly under the anonymity of Butterfly. Enigma probably felt the same way, safe.

She looked at the search that was printing and grinned. As long as she had access to all these great super-spy software programs she was going to do some digging. First thing she was going to do was try to see if a young girl from Ranger's neighborhood died in a car accident. If she necessary she'd call Ricardo, or Lester, and ask some questions. Next, she was going to get to know Enigma even better. Finally, she was going to keep putting the pressure on Ranger and see if he'd trip up. She was, after all, The Bombshell Bounty Hunter, and damn if she didn't always get her man!

Word count: 1279 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	18. Chapter 18

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. Thanks Lauri for letting me bounce ideas off you!

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 18--**

* * *

Still Monday, Rangers office...

He pulled up the security camera over her desk and watched her work. She was scowling slightly at the computer screen, her chin in her left hand, chewing on the end of the pen in her right. He wondered what she was working on. She was so cute when she concentrating. She'd left him absolutely stunned earlier. She never initiated contact between them. Normally she would just get this look in her eye that called him like siren's song. In that look she said, "I want you. Put your hands on me. Mark me. Claim me. Fuck me. Make me scream your name." It pulled him into her force field and it was all he could do to stop at just kissing her. He was pretty sure she didn't even know she had that look. The one thing he was certain of was that it was his look alone. He had never seen her throw that look Morelli's way.

He had completed one phase of Operation Thaw, introducing Stephanie to his family and in turn, a lighter side of himself. A second phase, the Be More Open stage, was in progress. The next phase was the Increase Stephanie Plums Confidence stage, which needed to be combined with the Make Stephanie Feel Loved and Appreciated stage. Picking up his phone, he made a call.

* * *

Chewing on the end of her pen she tried to figure out what to say to Enigma. Her spidey sense was tingling on this one and she was ninety percent certain Enigma and Ranger were one and the same. She was excited and nervous at the same time. Excited because science agreed with her heart. She belonged with Ranger. Nervous because she wasn't sure what to think about Ranger joining a dating service.

She knew in her heart that she loved Ranger. The connection they had physically was incredible. Lula and Connie had teased her on more than one occasion that there was enough electricity between her and Ranger to light up Times Square.

They had a connection spiritually too. She knew when he was near, knew when he entered a room, knew when he was hiding in the shadows watching her, her dark knight, her silent protector. The guys had told her when she'd been kidnapped by Stiva that Ranger had known she was in trouble. He called them from Miami to find out if she was ok. When he found out she'd dropped off grid, he went ballistic and hopped the first plane out. She knew he snuck into her room sometimes, too. She didn't know why though. Hmm, maybe that would be something to ask Enigma. What comforts him? She would have to be careful in how she worded her correspondence.

She typed, "Enigma, when I have a bad day I turn to several comforts: my best friend, my favorite Ben and Jerry's, my favorite movie. Where do you turn when you need comfort? Waiting, Butterfly." Before she lost her courage, she clicked send and headed to Rangers office.

She paused at his door; she could hear low tones inside. She couldn't tell if he was on the phone or with someone. She was about to walk away when the door was thrown open, "Babe?"

"Oh, hey Ranger. I was going to see if you wanted to grab lunch?"

* * *

He was on the phone again when he saw her get up and head his direction. "What are you up to, Babe?" he wondered, her more aggressive behavior both pleased and puzzled him. He watched her hesitate at his door, raise her hand like she was going to knock, and then put her hand back down. Quickly he ended his call and flung open the door, "Babe?"

She looked like she had been caught sticking her finger in the cake frosting at a wedding. "Oh, hey Ranger. I was going to see if you wanted to grab lunch?"

Depends, he thought. Can I have you for lunch? Out loud he said, "Sure, Babe. What did you have in mind?"

"Um, there's a new sushi place open Ive been thinking about trying. Want to guide me through the intricacies?" Sushi? His Babe didn't eat sushi. This could be fun. "Sure, Babe. Meet you in the garage in five?"

"Ok," she said and headed off.

Quickly, he made a call to reschedule his surprise and headed to the garage. He stepped out of the stairwell and was annoyed to see Santos and Tank laughing with Stephanie. He was headed toward the Turbo when he heard, "Boss, we wont all fit in the Turbo."

Then take your own car, he growled. "Better yet, don't come." Lester had the gall to laugh out loud and head over to his own SUV. He slipped his arm around Steph and helped her into the Turbo.

Lester and Tank had already procured a table by the time they arrived. "Can't take a hint, huh Santos?"

Lester just grinned. "We took the liberty of ordering. Hmm, sushi with a beautiful woman. Reminds me of that time in Kyoto when we ate sushi off those hot chicks! Man, I would have eaten _anything_ off of them."

Steph rolled her eyes when Lester said this, but her eyes widened and she flushed pink when Ranger leaned over and whispered in ear, "I'd eat anything off of you. I'd even drizzle chocolate on you and slowly lick every inch clean." Before she could respond the food was delivered.

"Where do you start?" she asked.

"Its traditional to start with the miso soup. Just pick up the bowl and drink out of it. No spoon required." She liked that and was surprised at how delicious the miso soup was. It had tiny chunks of tofu and pieces of seaweed. It was mesmerizing, as the miso would quickly separate from the broth making the soup resemble a rolling boil. "Ok, whats next?"

"Babe," he asked, "Trust me?"

"Always, Ranger."

"Close your eyes then." She closed her eyes and he got a spider roll, made of deep fried soft shell crab, for her to start. Open. She opened her mouth and started to chew the roll. "Um, delicious," she moaned. The rich flavor of the crab, combined with the crisp crunch of the batter and the spicy sauce was delectable. The sauce dripped slightly at the corner of her mouth and he reached out with a finger to wipe it off her face. As he did, she turned her head and captured his finger in her mouth. She sucked it in, caressed it with her tongue before releasing it with a pop. Lester and Tank shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. "Yum, can I have a drink?" He guided the straw to her mouth.

"Open again," he commanded. The cool, pungent ginger, assailed her senses as she rolled it across her tongue. "Mmm, what was that?"

"Gari. Pickled ginger. It helps to cleanse the palette between flavors. Open." This time he gave her an ohyo sushi. She hummed with pleasure again. "What was that?"

"Ohyo. Halibut with sushi rice and wasabi. Would you like it spicier?"

"Um, no, I don't want to take away from the flavor."

He fed her another small piece of gari. "Open." He gave her a piece of toro sashimi. Toro was the fatty part of the tuna, a lovely, rich flavor but relatively mild for beginning sushi eaters. Again, she groaned with pleasure, "Um, that was yummy. It tastes like the ocean. Reminds me of Point Pleasant. Cool and refreshing. What was it?"

"Tuna." He gave her another piece of the sushi. This time he dipped it in a small amount of shoyu. Her tongue darted out to lick the salty flavor off her lips. He groaned and captured her mouth with his, her eyes remaining closed as his tongue ran over her lips in the same manner hers had done a moment before. When she finally opened her eyes, Lester and Tank were gone.

* * *

"You know we left perfectly good sushi sitting on the table? I'm going to have to eat one of those tofu sandwiches in the break room now."

"Shut up Santos."

"We could have just moved to a different table."

"Shut up Santos."

"Just cause the Boss wants to get all flirty over some raw fish."

"Santos!"

* * *

She was back at her cubicle after lunch. The sushi restaurant had definitely been an experience. She had just wanted to spend some more time with Ranger. She had no idea he'd turn it in to such a sensual experience. Talk about broadening her horizons.

Turning her attention to her inbox, which had again exploded with search requests from F. Rodriguez, she sighed. There were also several searches for Lester. Deciding to do his first, she pulled out a search for Lauri Earnhardt. There was no indication of what she was supposed to looking for on Lauri, so she started all the standard searches. She flipped through the rest of the new searches. There were several females Lester had requested searches on. Anastasia Lebedev, Julie Garret and Larisa Ivanov.

Is Lester using Rangeman to screen dates? she pondered. Shrugging it off as silly, she opened the archived newspaper program. In the search criteria, she entered "Newark, accident, vehicular, grandparent, 1984," clicked run and sat back to see what info would pop up.

* * *

The ride back from the restaurant had passed in companionable silence. He was going to walk her back up to the office, but ended up being waylaid in the garage by Binkie. Now back in his office, he settled in to watch her reaction to his surprise. Right on time, she got a call from the lobby. He watched her get on the elevator and ride down. The florist had her sign for the delivery and then handed her a small, simple, yet delicate bouquet of baby tulips. They were a deep purple and hand wrapped with a wide green ribbon. She lifted them to her nose to inhale their light honey scent. She thanked the florist and headed to the elevator. She didn't read the card until she was back in her cubicle. "_Beautiful flowers, for a beautiful woman. -Carlos" _She looked straight into the camera and mouthed, Thank you. Of course, she knew he was watching.

Smiling, he turned his attention back to his computer intent on getting to work, until he noticed the new mail icon. "New mail from Butterfly attached." He opened it anxiously and quickly scanned its contents.

"Oh shit." He thought. "How do I explain this one?"

* * *

The results of her search were back and they were promising. Sure enough, a young girl age six, was killed in traffic accident with her grandparents in April 1984. She cross checked the grandparents info and came up with the girls parents. Their address was just down the street from the Manoso's. Ranger was Enigma. Now, what was she going to do about it? Grinning, she decided she was going to step up the pressure on Ranger.

The conference room door was shut when she left. Hal and Binkie were on the monitors and paid no attention to her when she opened the key box and filched the keys to Rangers truck.

* * *

Monday evenings conference call with Ram....

"We're not any further along in figuring out who the inside contacts are. Silvio hasn't found anything yet that indicates file tampering. All the mail coming in and out for the possible targets seems completely legit. All the email addresses check out. The IP addresses are all different and consistent. The mails aren't being bounced or redirected."

"Well, Marc Pardo, has a meet and greet on Sunday. Ram, you think the girl will be delivered before then?"

"Yeah, Boss," Ram's voice came over the speakerphone. "Everything I've been able to find out indicates that shell be at that event to meet her match."

"Do we know who he is?"

"Yeah, Shane Doyle, code name Shamrock."

"Hey! That's..."

"That's who, Lester?"

"Oh, that's the guy who owns Coyote Racing Gear. You know the dirt bike clothing and gear place." He quickly covered his slip up.

Ranger gave him a dirty look like he knew he was hiding something.

In an effort to change the subject, he said, "I dunno, Ric, maybe we should dig into the background of your 96% match. Seems pretty much impossible to have someone be that close to being YOUR soul mate. Maybe its a plant?" Lester gave himself a mental high-five.

"No, my match is not a plant," he growled.

"No? How do you know?"

"I just do. Drop it and focus."

"Uh huh, if you say so, Boss." Lester's phone chose that moment to ring. Audiogroove's Sexy Chick blasted through the room. "Excuse me, I have to take this." He stepped out of the room, "Hey Steph, what's up?"

"Lester, I need a favor. You owe me after this weekend."

"You think so, huh Beautiful? What do you need?"

"I want you to call me when Ranger heads to the bonds office tomorrow."

"That's it?"

"Yeah."

"Girl, what are you up to?"

"None of your damn business. Just call me." She hung up on him.

* * *

Tuesday Morning...

She was sitting down the road from the bonds office waiting for the call from Lester. As she waited her thoughts turned to Ranger, yummy, naked Ranger, drizzled in chocolate. She started thinking about how he'd kissed her between bites of sushi. How after they'd left the restaurant he'd pushed his seat back, pulled her into his lap and kissed her into oblivion. She ran her hands down her breasts, remembering how he'd teased her nipples. Sighing, she ran her hands further down to the edge of her jean skirt, remembering how she felt him grow hot and hard under her ass. She was already wet from just thinking about him and started to slide her fingers under her skirt, when her phone rang. Trey Songz's sultry voice rang loud, "Say Aaaah." Lester had been playing with her phone again. She flipped her phone open, "Yo."

"He's on his way."

"Thanks Lester."

"No problem."

"Hey Lester?"

"Yeah?"

"Stop screwing with my phone!"

She hung up and slid down in her seat to wait for Ranger. He knew he wouldn't see her where she was at, but she still felt nervous. He parked in the back lot and headed inside. Her phone rang again, "He's in with Vinnie."

"Thanks, Con." Quickly she wriggled out of her panties. They were sexy, pink, lace cheekies from Victoria's Secret and now they smelled like her arousal. She put the car in gear, circled the block and pulled up in front of the Bonds office. In stealth mode, she made her way down the alley to the parking lot and beeped open Rangers truck. Carefully, she placed the panties on his seat and locked the truck back up. She had barely finished signing for her files when Ranger came out of Vinnie's office.

"Ladies. Babe." He smiled at her and headed out the door.

"Quick Connie, give me my files. Lula, lets go, we gotta hit that early bird sale at Macys."

As soon as they hit the door, she knew she was in trouble, "Shit!" She should know better than to play games with Ranger. He was leaning against the front fender of her car, his face schooled of all emotions.

Lula gave her a sharp glance. "What'd you do?"

"Nothing. Just get in the car, we gotta go."

Lula took one look at Ranger and jumped in the car like Stephanie had suggested.

* * *

Outside the bonds office...

He regarded her carefully from behind his mirrored shades. Her cheeks were flushed pink and it was obvious she was hiding something. He would have been totally turned on even if hadn't been inhaling her sweet scent mere minutes before. Silence stretched between them.

Finally she caved, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like, what?"

"Like I'm a Rubik cube."

"Just trying to figure out if you're wearing panties or not."

She smirked, "Your radar on the fritz?"

"Around you? Always."

Skirting around him to open her car door, she grinned at him, "Well, let me know when you figure it out." Then she got in and drove away.

Fingering the lace in his pocket, he smiled.

* * *

Word count: 2730 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	19. Chapter 19

Rated: M for language and **SMUT**. Not mine, not making any money. Thanks Lauri, Sue and Jacqueline for letting me bounce ideas off you! Also, thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed or added Operation Thaw to their favorites and alerts. I had no idea how much it meant to get reviews until I started writing.

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 19--**

* * *

Haywood...

As he drove back to Haywood he tried to get into his zone, but all he could think of was Stephanie walking around Trenton without her panties. It was pretty evident she'd been wearing them shortly before leaving them in his truck. His groin tightened at the thought. He pulled into the garage, stuffed the panties back in his pocket, and jumped out of his truck. The elevator doors slid open to reveal Lester's smug mug. His hand was on the door to the stairwell when Lester's voice stopped him cold. "Hey cuz, what's that in your pocket?" Chagrined he looked down and realized a tiny slip of pink lace was peeking out of his pocket, stark in contrast to his black cargos. Keeping his face carefully neutral, he slipped his hand in his pocket pushing the lace down, ignored Lester and walked up the stairs. Lester's booming laughter bounced against the concrete and followed him up.

* * *

Lula was nonstop chatter as they pulled away from the bonds office. "What the heck just happened?"

"Um, nothing?" she tried to shrug it off.

"Oh no, you're not getting away with that. That was _not_ nothing. Batman was, he was, heck I don't know what he was, but it was directed at you!"

She pulled into her lot, parked and turned in her seat, "Look, I've got to run upstairs real quick. I'll be right back and then I'll tell you on the way to the mall, okay?"

Huffing, Lula agreed and she left her in the car and ran upstairs. She might be channeling her inner bad girl, but there was no way she was running around the mall sans panties. She shed her skirt, pulled on a comfortable pair of cotton boy shorts, threw on her jeans and headed back out the door.

As soon as they were on the road Lula spoke, "Ok girl, now tell me whats going on."

"When we were talking the other day I had a revelation. And ," she let out in a rush.

"Come again?"

"I decided to change the rules. I put pressure on Batman."

"What did you do?"

She laughed softly, "He always said he had radar and could tell if a girl was wearing panties or not. So I left my panties in his truck."

"OH MY GOD!" Lula gasped. "You didn't?"

"I did." She started giggling at the thought.

"Fuckin-A! You go girl! What are you going to do next?"

"I have no idea. You?"

"Hell yeah. Tomorrow is St. Pattys! We're going on a pub crawl!"

"How will that help put pressure on Ranger?"

"Cause everything about you: your hair, your dress, your makeup, your attitude is going to be all "Morelli Who?" and he'll see that he has free rights to chase ya!"

* * *

He sat in his office, doing paperwork, but he was having trouble concentrating. He kept reaching in his pocket to finger the silky satin and smooth lace of Steph's panties. He decided he had better respond to Butterfly's email. He didn't want her to think he was upset or uninterested.

"Butterfly, I've thought long and hard about your question and want to answer it in person. Would you be available Friday? I have business in New York. I'd like to have you meet me there and I'll take you somewhere very special. I hope you'll say yes."

He paused to stick his hand in his pocket again. "Damn, this is ridiculous," he thought. He pulled the panties out of his pocket, took a deep whiff, like the scent on them was a drug, and stuck them in the bottom drawer of his desk. Now, maybe he could concentrate.

"I told you briefly about my failed marriage. Can you tell me..." His fingers stilled over the keyboard and he drifted off thinking about how great her legs looked in the snug jean skirt. He realized what he was doing when the drawer was half open. "Oh shit."

He pulled the panties out of the drawer and stood up, inhaling another deep breath. Just as he did his drawer flew open and Tank walked in. "Hey Rang..." Tanks voice trailed off and his eyes grew wide. This time the look on his face said, "if you want to end up a bleeding, oozing, pile of goo, I dare you to say anything" as he wadded the panties up in his hand and once again, stuffed them in his pocket.

"Uh, never mind." Tank's smirk said he not only saw everything but had made an instant, accurate assessment, "I'll come back." He turned and left as quickly as he came. As the door shut, he heard, "Might want to lock the door next time!"

"Fucking hell," he thought as he sunk onto the couch and buried his face in his hands. He was so going to get her back for this. His mind started to wander to ways he could punish her. He'd start by pulling her over his knee and spanking her hot ass until she was....Dang! Pulling his shit together, he took three long strides across the room, flipped the hinged mirror out of the way and opened his wall safe. Taking one more orgasmic sniff, he threw the panties in and twirled the lock.

* * *

It was a little after one a.m. and he'd just taken a cold shower after a long run in the gym. Neither effort had quelled his desire. He'd been turned on all day; her panties burned into his brain, her scent lingering like a dream, and now they taunted him lying innocently on the foot of the bed. He wanted to go see her. Hell, she'd more than given him partial consent by leaving them in his truck, but then to say "let me know when you figure it out" was throwing fuel on the flames. He couldn't though; not until the business with Enigma was sorted out. If he didn't figure that out first, she would feel betrayed. He'd already tainted one sexual encounter, he wasn't about to ruin another.

Frustrated, he sat on the end of the bed. He fingered the panties, and then picked them up, slipping his thumbs in the leg holes to spread them flat in his palms. They were small and delicate, just like her. Tiny flowers were integrated into the lace that edged the panties; smooth satin that would have barely covered her mound and gently cupped her ass, composed the rest of the garment.

Leaning back on the bed, his towel loosened and he slid the lace over his hardened nipples, the textured material reminding him of her fingernails scraping over them. He groaned at the memories that assaulted his senses as her scent wafted up to his nose. He brought the garment up and buried his nose in it, remembering how she opened to him and he tasted her sweet juices, licked and nipped her hard clit, fucked her pussy with his tongue. He drug the material down over his abs, each muscle clenching individually as it slid past. His fingers stopped at the top of his treasure trail. His breath sped up as he remembered how she followed the light path of dark hair south with wet, open mouthed kisses. He grasped his cock firmly and stroked it smoothly as he remembered how she'd ran her tongue up and down his shaft.

He stopped to gather the precum dripping from his slit. He brought his thumb to his mouth and licked his cum, remembering how she'd kissed him after so he could taste himself on her. Thoughts of Stephanie writhing below him as the moonlight played across her luscious alabaster skin, continued to dance through his mind. Her curls a dark contrast as he threaded his hands into them. Her lips, swollen and red from his demanding kisses, but still begging him for more. His cock ached with desire. Sighing, he wrapped the smooth satin around his cock, and gripped himself hard, his heat contrasting with the cool material. He moved his other hand down to cup and knead his balls as he remembered every agonizingly tight inch as he slid into her. He stroked faster remembering the moans, pants and groans, as she had begged him to bring her to completion. His breathing grew ragged and he gently inserted his finger into his ass and applied pressure to his prostrate as he remembered her pussy clamping down on his cock as she came, triggering his own release both then and now. "Babe." Her name whispered across his lips, part hell, part heaven. Relieved enough to finally sleep, he cleaned himself up, dropping the panties in the laundry.

* * *

Word count: 1450 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	20. Chapter 20

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. For Lauri, who had a bad day. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 20--**

* * *

Wednesday afternoon...

Her day was almost over and St. Paddy's day celebrations were about to begin. She was just dropping Mooner off at home after getting him rebonded, again. She swore that guy was in trouble every other month. He must be independently wealthy: he never works, he watches TV all day and was constantly having to rebond himself. Her day had gone by relatively quietly. Earlier she'd gone by the office and carefully returned the keys to Ranger's truck. No one seemed to notice they had been missing. Well, aside from the man in black himself, but he didn't say anything. In fact, other than their morning run, he'd practically avoided her all day. Lester and Tank had given her funny looks a couple times.

Her shopping trip with Lula had resulted in a fabulous little black dress. It had a cowlneck front and back. In the front, it dipped to her breast bone exposing what little cleavage she had and hinted at the soft curve of the underside of her breasts; in the back, it dropped to just above her butt and nothing kept it on but a small tie across her shoulders. She was headed to Mr. Alexanders to get her hair done. She was also going to get some temporary art done at the tattoo parlor next door. She had purchased an emerald green thong for the occasion, but she didn't want to flash everyone just to prove she was wearing green, so she was going to have a shamrock tattooed on her left shoulder.

The plan was to get ready at Lula's and head out from there, so she went upstairs to grab her dress and shoes. Her laptop was sitting on the dining room table and she was mortified when she recalled that she hadn't checked her mail since the day before. Double clicking on the mail envelope, she winced when she saw Enigma had emailed her yesterday morning. Quickly she scanned his email and grinned. Her question about Enigma's source of comfort must have been an uncomfortable one because he wanted to meet her in person to give her an answer. "Batman, what are you up to?" she mused. His question gave her an idea for her next encounter with Ranger.

She typed, "Enigma, I'd love to meet you finally. Friday is fine. Just give me the details. I'll expect an answer to my question. Breathless, Butterfly."

* * *

He'd slept restlessly and had finally given up the notion of getting any real sleep by four. An hour later he and the guys were waking up Stephanie to run. He made it a point not to say anything about the panty incident. He wanted to see how much she'd escalate her game if she didn't get the reaction she expected. Although, he had no idea what reaction she was looking for. He was watching her on camera when she snuck his keys back into the lock box. _"Will you walk into my parlor?" said the spider to the fly,_ he thought. She obviously didn't give any thought to the cameras.

He was once again disappointed to find Butterfly hadn't emailed him back, but his disappointment lessened when Tank let him in on a little secret.

"So Lula said she's taken Stephanie on a pub crawl tonight."

"She can't handle that much liquor. You guys going?"

"We weren't invited." He raised a single eyebrow at that remark. Tank continued, "But we figured we'd crash along the way."

"Where are they going?"

"They're starting at McCarthy's Pub, then Caliente, Bob's Tavern, Rockin' K and ending at Illusions, if they make it that far. Going to join us?"

Ranger shrugged noncommittally. He had no intentions of telling Tank his plans. Tonight he'd incorporate some revenge into Operation Thaw.

* * *

McCarthy's was already overflowing when she and Lula made their way inside. In particular, it was filled with large men in black and gold rugby uniforms. "Hey mates!" came a loud shout, "Lookie 'ere at the pretty lasses! Come on up 'ere dah-lin and lemme buy ya beer." The obviously drunk man reminded her of Diesel with his dirty blond hair and ripped body. She accepted the pint of green Strongbow from the bartender and looked around the bar. It was a large, moderately lit two story building. There were pool tables and darts upstairs and a slide gave you a quick return to the first floor. The lower floor had a nice dance floor, rung with waist high tables on three sides and deep booths on the fourth. Tonight they had a live band. She was chatting with the toasted rugby player while she finished her beer. He promptly had the bartender replace it with a car bomb. She reluctantly took it remembering her last experience with them, but decided it was early in the evening and shot it down anyway. She suspected he was trying to get her as wasted as he was.

The rugby guys had a petite blond on the bar chanting "shot, shot, shot." Apparently they were trying to do body shots off her. She looked around for Lula and found her talking on her cell phone. "Uh huh, okay, yeah, I have to go now." Hanging up she said, "Hey, lets go freshen up." She briefly pondered if Lula was plotting something as they headed to the bathrooms on the second floor. After taking care of business, Lula said, "Come on, lets take the slide down. It'll be fun!"

She was about to say yes when she got a familiar tingle up her neck. She scanned the bar area for Ranger, but didn't see him. Shrugging, she followed Lula to the slide. Lula went first, shrieking with delight all the way down. She was pretty certain every rugby player in the place had seen up Lula's skirt when she went down. Determined not to make the same mistake, she sat carefully down on the slide and crossed her ankles. The slide was fast and all too soon it was over as she landed in a pair of mocha latte arms. Ranger scooped her up bridal style, "Babe."

"Hey you big brute! Unhand me. Where are you taking me? Put me down!" she yelped in mock horror.

Ranger complied, settling her down on one of the tables around the dance floor. "You're not wearing green. Don't I have to punish you for that? Spank you maybe?"

"I am too wearing green!"

He smirked, "Oh yeah? Where? Your panties don't count. I have to be able to see it."

She gestured for him to look behind her and she flipped her hair out of the way. He traced his finger over her temporary art. Placing a kiss at her temple he whispered in her ear, "And I was so looking forward to teaching you a lesson."

Coming back around between her legs, he said, "I got you something," and clasped a delicate silver bracelet on her left wrist. It had a single shamrock charm on it.

"What's this for?" she asked as she fingered it. "It's beautiful."

He plucked her off the table and drew her tight against him. Tipping up her chin he captured her lips in a light, soft kiss. When she moaned against him, he slipped his tongue into her mouth, running it against her teeth and dueling with her tongue. Wolf whistles erupted from the direction of the rugby players. "Luck o the Cuban," he grinned. He gave her another quick smack and was gone.

* * *

They arrived at Club Caliente a little after ten. She and Lula had barely downed their first shot of tequila when she felt Ranger's presence again. His hand came to rest on the small of her back. "Following me?" she asked. He didn't respond, instead turning her so she faced him. He then lowered his head and licked from the bottom of her left breast, up her cleavage and across the top. As she struggled to catch her breath, he grabbed the salt and flicked it on the wet spot. Her mouth dropped open as she realized what he was doing and he took advantage by sticking a lime in her mouth. She shot him a death glare and he just grinned. Lowering his head again, he slowly licked the salt from bottom to top, ending in a hot, open mouthed kiss on the swell of her breast, his tongue darting down to flick her nipple. He downed the shot and sucked the lime out of her mouth.

Taking advantage of her dazed stupor he took her hand, brought her to the dance floor and led her in a slow, sensual bachata. Sliding his leg between hers, he pulled her up his strong, muscular thigh. Thrusting his pelvis against hers, he coaxed her hips into rhythm. Her body knew the beat and responded in kind. In time with the music, every fourth beat he rubbed his thigh against her mound and she thrust hers against his crotch. After a few strokes she started to whimper against him, his cock grew hard and he could feel his pant leg dampen with her arousal. He bent his knees to bring them closer together and she was practically dancing in his lap. When he could tell she was about to orgasm, he straightened up and lightened the pressure of his leg. She groaned in agony. When the song ended he brought her left hand to his lips, kissed the inside of her palm, and left her on the floor, breathless and needy.

Dismayed and horny as hell, she stomped back to the bar and downed the abandoned tequila shot. Something sparkly caught her attention and she looked at her wrist. Somehow, he'd attached a new charm, a sparkly, red Wonder Woman symbol.

* * *

Forty-five minutes and another shot of tequila later, they arrived at Bob's Tavern. Bob's claim to fame was two dozen pool tables. Surprise, surprise, the back two tables were occupied by a half dozen Merry Men and Morgan. Lula greeted Morgan enthusiastically, "Hey Baby! You made it."

Pulling Lula aside, she demanded an explanation, "Why have the Merry Men been following us around all night?"

"I said we were gonna get the "Morelli Who" message out. How are we going to do that if no one is around to receive it, acknowledge it and spread it?"

"Ok, when you put it that way." She flashed Lula a grin, "Thanks! Is Morgan going to be joining us for the rest of the night?"

Lula returned her smile with one of her own, "I sure hope so! Come on white girl, lets rack 'em up!"

They teamed up, Lula with Morgan, Steph with Lester and started to play. It became immediately obvious that pool was not Lula's strong suit. Lester was lining up to sink the eight ball when strong arms encircled her once again. "Imagine seeing you again," she murmured as she turned in his arms to face him. "What _are_ you doing?"

"Came to play pool," he answered glibly. "Want to make the game more interesting?"

"Oh? What did you have in mind?"

"A wager, of course. An article of clothing for an article of clothing, both removed before we begin the game. Winner gets to keep both."

"If I were to agree, what article of clothing are we talking about? I'm only wearing two."

"Unless you count socks, so am I."

"Hmm, that really limits the possibilities unless we want to add 'arrested for indecent exposure' to our list of activities this evening."

"So, you game?"

"Yep."

Flashing a wolf grin, he stripped off his t-shirt revealing his beautiful, chiseled chest and sculpted abs. She moaned and reached out to run her hands over him, but he shifted out of the way. His mini-strip tease immediately garnered the attention of the Merry Men and Lula resulting in whoops and whistles. "Your turn."

"If you think I'm taking my panties off out here you're insane, Batman."

* * *

Trying to concentrate on the pool table while Ranger stood by it half dressed was insanely difficult. Knowing her panties were in Rangers pocket raised the stakes. Leaning over to take a clean shot while not exposing her ass to the whole bar was equally difficult. Beating Ranger at his own game, however, was going to be easy. He was a good player; probably none of the Merry Men stood a chance against him, but he had no idea how good she was. If he thought he knew from watching her play with Lester and Lula, he was mistaken. She was playing easy because she didn't want to make Lula feel bad. In reality, she had practically majored in pool during college. During her last two years of college, she probably paid for a sum total of eight drinks herself. Every other one was earned playing pool. Come to think of it, she should have been a pool player instead of a bounty hunter. Shed be much better off financially.

Ranger had made the mistake of letting her go first. The game was almost over and he hadn't even touched the table yet. Trying to ignore Ranger's gloriously naked chest, she lined up her last shot, the eight ball. It was a difficult shot. She was going to have to bank it off the side and between two of Ranger's balls. Focusing she let her shot fly and the area around her was filled with applause. Lester picked her up in a hug and swung her around. "Great job Beautiful! It's been a long time since the boss had his ass handed to him."

"Thanks, Les. Now put me down!" He was swinging her so enthusiastically she was slightly concerned that her ass was displayed. Her concern was confirmed when as he set her down a fist came out of nowhere and he went down like a brick. She rolled her eyes at Ranger and picked up her prize, "I think I'll just add this to my badass black collection. I believe you have something of mine."

"Babe."

"Ranger."

"I can't convince you to call this a draw?"

She snorted, "This was a massacre. Give!" He reluctantly stretched his panty-filled hand out to her. As she reached out to grab them, he captured her hand in his. Pulling her close, he caressed her nearly naked ass, kissed her and pulled away. Then, once again, he disappeared leaving her panting for more. When she looked down she had her panties in her hand and her bracelet had another new charm. This time it was a small pair of handcuffs.

She wasn't sure she understood the rules of the game he was playing, but it sure was fun.

* * *

It was well nearing one a.m. when they stumbled into Rockin' K. Rockin' K was Trenton's version of Coyote Ugly. The place was predictably packed. The bartenders were up on the bar doing a dirty grind to _Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy_. Two of the girls had enlisted the assistance of a familiar pair of figures clad in black. Closer inspection revealed the Wrangler clad hotties were Lester and Hector. Hector? Gay or not, that man had moves and his tight ass filled his jeans to perfection. Seeing her standing by the bar, he reached a hand down to pull her up, "Estefani?" Grasping his hand, she allowed him to pull her up.

They were two-stepping on the bar when a hand reached up and ripped her out of Hectors arms. She found herself staring into the very angry brown eyes of Joe Morelli. "Joe! What are you doing? Let go of me!"

"Cupcake, we need to talk."

Lester's voice, deadly calm, came from behind Joe, "She said let go." A very angry Hector came jumped down behind her and released her wrist from Joe's grip. Joe immediately swung around at Lester. Lester sucker punched him in the gut, then spun and hit him with a round house kick to the side of his head. The fight was broken up abruptly when the bartender sprayed them down with water and told them to get out.

Hector put his arm around her and led her from the bar, talking gently to her in Spanish. When they were in the parking lot, Joe came stumbling out of the bar. She hadn't realized it earlier, but he was drunk. "Cupcake, we need to talk. You need to come home. The boys miss you. I miss you. I won't marry a whore. Why are you whoring yourself with these thugs?"

"Joe, I told you a month ago we were done. Permanently done. I also said we might be friends someday. Apparently I was wrong. You're not my friend! Go away Joe!"

Ignoring Joe's continued pleas, she let Hector help her into the back of Lester's SUV. "Where to Beautiful?"

She sighed, "I don't really feel like going anywhere else now, but Lula's expecting me at Illusions, so we probably should head over there." Dejected, she dropped her head, put her hands in her lap and stared at them. That's when she noticed she was sporting another new charm. This time it was a bat symbol encrusted in tiny black Swarovski crystals. Now how the heck had he got that on there?

* * *

Illusions was a hip-hop dance club. It was basically a giant dance floor surrounded by couches with one side dominated by a huge ice bar. The bar itself was obsidian marble, inlayed with a solid ice. At one end there was an ice sculpture where you could get super cold shots. As soon as they walked in the bar Lester bought her one. Tonight's ice sculpture was a woman on her knees, her head tilted back. The bartender poured the shot at the base of her neck. The vodka flowed down between her breasts, over her flat stomach, and down a trough formed by her legs. Placing her lips where the sculptures knees connected she slurped the vodka up. "Yum! Thanks Lester."

"That was hot, Beautiful. Want another?" Lester wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Spying Ranger behind him, she laughed, "I don't know Lester, how many black eyes are you expecting to get tonight?"

Ranger clapped him on the back and said, "I'll take over from here. Thanks." Then they did the ESP thing.

Gently inspecting her wrists, he asked, "Morelli hurt you, Babe?"

"It's okay, Ranger. Hector and Lester were there. Um, maybe you can help me find a thigh holster? Since Ram and I have been working together, I'm ok with my gun now."

He smiled, "Proud of you, Babe."

"Hey Ranger, want to come over for dinner and a movie Friday?"

She gave herself a mental high-five, laughing at the surprise and discomfort that flitted over his face before he hid it. "I would love to but I have some meetings out of town this weekend."

"Oh." She made sure she sounded disappointed. "Another time then."

"Definitely Babe. Let's dance."

They spent the next couple hours in each others arms on the dance floor. It was after four a.m. when he got her home. As usual his car lulled her to sleep. He carried her upstairs, dressed her in his t-shirt, and tucked her into bed. Smiling, he attached the final charm to her bracelet. It was an intricate globe shape resembling two hands entwined together. Inside, it snuggly held a 4 carat heart-shaped diamond.

Kissing her gently, he said, "Sweet dreams, carina," and walked out the door.

* * *

Word count: 3259 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	21. Chapter 21

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. 

**This was supposed to be the big reveal chapter but Ranger had other plans. You'll have to take up any concerns with him. **______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 21--**

* * *

Thursday, noon....

Her eyes felt like they were glued shut. She groaned at the light that filtered through her curtains. Hmm, too much light, she thought, had to be at least noon. Cracking open an eye to glance at her clock she confirmed her suspicion. 11:57, close enough. She drug herself out of bed and did her business in the bathroom. Deciding a shower would do more immediate good than coffee she took care of that too.

Dressed in a tank top and short cotton booty shorts, she stepped into the living room while toweling off her hair. She stopped abruptly at the sight of Ranger sleeping on her couch. Memories of the previous evening flooded her mind and she glanced at her wrist. In her hung-over state she hadn't even noticed her bracelet. Looking closer she saw that there was a fifth charm. It was two hands joined to form a globe. Inside the globe was a large, heart shaped diamond. "Holy fuck," she thought. "Is that thing real? It has to be at least 4 carats."

Her attention returned to Ranger. He looked younger in sleep. The worry lines and hard edge that normally dominated his face were relaxed. His lips were pouted slightly as he breathed through his mouth. His long hair was falling slightly over his forehead and cheekbone. Damn, he was sexy as hell. She noticed the Cure sitting on the coffee table next to his laptop. He must have expected her up earlier. As quietly as she could, she pulled the cold fries out and sat on the table watching him.

A few moments later his voice, gravelly with sleep made her heart soar, "You're staring, Babe."

"So?" she smiled. "You're amazing. I like to look."

He reached out and grabbed her wrist pulling her down next to him, her head on his chest, "You can do more than look." He kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her. "How are you feeling?"

"Good. Thanks for bringing me the Cure."

"You slept later than I expected."

"How long have you been here?"

"Since around ten."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sure you have lots to do."

He chuckled, "Apparently I needed sleep. I wanted to take you to Sunny's to get that holster. I don't want Morelli or anyone else taking you by surprise again."

"Ok." They were silent for a few minutes, just enjoying each others company. "Ranger?"

"Yeah Babe?"

"Thank you for the bracelet. Its beautiful. Please don't tell me this is a real diamond. It looks really expensive."

"Okay Babe. I won't tell you."

"Ranger."

"Keep it, Babe. I want you to have it. I won't let you give it back."

"But..."

"Babe, I could buy you one every day for the rest of our lives and still give Warren Buffet a run for his money. Its insured. Keep it. Wear it. Please."

"Okay. Thank you again."

"De nada, Bebe. Now, how about we get going?"

"Alright. Let me finish getting dressed."

* * *

He sat on the couch waiting for her to finish getting dressed and thought about the night before and the upcoming weekend. He felt last night was a resounding success. He was able to surprise his Babe with his gifts and make her feel special; all part of Operation Thaw. He also kept her on the edge sexually all night; all part of the Panty Revenge.

He didn't know what to make of her invitation for dinner Friday. He was certain she was his Butterfly. She had to be. And yet, Butterfly had accepted his invitation for dinner on Friday. Why would Steph invite him to dinner if she already had plans? This had major potential to blow up in his face. He was dangerously tempted to have Silvio hack Exclusive Services accounts and tell him who Butterfly was. If it wasn't Steph he'd cancel the plans. The desire, no, the need, to be as honest with her as possible kept him from doing it. He wanted to be able to tell her that he'd figured out it was her by her clues, not because he cheated.

She stepped out of the bedroom, "Deep thoughts, Batman?"

He just gave his almost smile and said, "Let's go."

* * *

At Sunny's Ranger quickly described the small, compact leather thigh holster he wanted and Sunny brought several out for her to try. After several tries, Sunny said, "Hon, that just ain't going to work for you. You need one of these."

She reached under the counter and brought up several purses. They were designed to hold a weapon concealed but with quick and easy access. She immediately liked a small black one in a hobo style. It was a multitasker that would dress up or down. She about choked on the $200 price tag, but decided it was a worthwhile investment. "Ok, I like this, but I still feel like I need something on my body."

"Sunny, what do you have in a knife sheath?" Sunny pulled out several styles. "Here Babe, try this on. I'll have Hector start working with you on knife fighting. He's really, really good. It'll be hard for anyone to notice a knife on you. You can hide them in several places: boot, bra, back, thigh, ankle, forearms. You have to be closer to your attacker to use them, but in some of the situations you've been in, you've been too close to use a gun effectively anyway. Actually, Hector can teach you to throw a knife, too. You can do that from much further out of reach."

"I like working with Hector. That sounds good." She laughed to herself about the "really, really good" part. Like she would question whether or not someone with two gang kills was good with a knife.

His phone, which had been unusually quiet, picked that moment to ring, "Yo," he answered. It was a brief phone call. "Babe, I was going to take you to lunch, but I have something I need to take care of. Want me to drop you back at home?"

"Can you drop me at Lula's? My car is there." She made her purchases: a 5 kbar, a thigh sheath to hold it and the leather gun purse. They made their way across town in companionable silence.

"What are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"I've got a few searches to do, so I'll probably head to the office. If you're going to talk to Hector soon, maybe I'll see if he's available later."

He pulled up behind her car and put the car into park. They sat in silence for an uncomfortable moment. He was tense for some reason. She wondered what had happened to the ease they'd felt earlier in her apartment. She reached for the door handle, "Well, I'm gonna..." Her words were abruptly cut off when he pulled her into his lap.

He wrapped his left arm under her arm and around her back, his hand holding the back of her head buried in her curls, pulling her body close to his. His right hand had a tight grip on her hip. He used his hand to tip her head back and pressed his soft, full lips to hers, gently caressing her with feather light kisses. When she returned his kiss, he increased the pressure. Pressed up against him, she could feel his heart beat speed up. He ran the tip of his tongue over her lips and a half moan, half sigh escaped from her chest. He plunged his tongue into her mouth and she gladly sucked it in. She felt the rumbled groan in his chest and the grip on her hip tightened. She raised her free hand to his chest and ran her fingers over his sculpted pectorals, flicking his nipple when she came to it. His hips involuntarily thrust up against her and she could feel his arousal. His hand released her hip and came up to cup her face as his mouth devoured hers. She felt like she was drowning in him and she loved it. She couldn't catch her breath and all she wanted was more. The hand in her curls started to relax and his thumb gently stroked her cheek as he lightened the kiss. His breathing was labored. He gently bit her lower lip and sucked it into his mouth, running is tongue over it before releasing it with a quiet pop. "Christ Babe."

She just sighed in response. He held her for another minute, before helping her back into her own seat. This time he didn't stop her when she got out of the car, "Well, I guess I'll see you later."

"Stay safe, Babe." She got in her car and he was gone.

* * *

Late that night...

He sat in his chair in the corner of her room watching her sleep. Yes, at this point he considered it his chair. He sat it in more than anyone. He knew she didn't sit in it. When she was in this room she was either asleep, or in her thinking position about to be asleep. Morelli would only spend time in this room for one reason and it had nothing to do with the chair. So therefore, it was his chair. "Geez," he thought to himself, "I'm rambling just like Stephanie." It was an obvious clue to his frustrations. The second obvious clue was that he wasn't aware of his surrounds as she was awake, looking at him and he hadn't noticed.

"Ranger, its a quarter after one. What are you doing?"

"Babe, go back to sleep. I just wanted to see you."

"Come to bed, Ranger. Its late. I'm tired. We can talk about why you're here in the morning."

He stood and stripped himself of his weapons, setting each down within easy reach by the bed. He unlaced his boots, and took off his shirt and socks. She was on her side, back to him, "Pants too, Ranger. You can sleep naked if you want, or there is a pair of your boxers in the third drawer." He hesitated then ditched his pants and climbed in next to her, pulling her close, her back to his front.

She fit so perfectly with him, like a puzzle piece. Her head tucked into his arm, using his shoulder as a pillow. Her shoulders pressed into his chest. There was a small space between his abs and the small of her back. His cock resting perfectly between her soft ass cheeks where they were connected hip to hip. Her slim thighs rested against his. Her knees bent around his. One slim, silky calf inserted between his. Their feet near each other. They just fit. He had never been content to just sleep next to and hold a woman before. He savored her nearness. If things didn't work out as he planned tomorrow, he may never enjoy this closeness with her again.

He had good reason to worry; plans often went very awry when Stephanie Plan was involved. He couldn't even begin to predict how she'd react tomorrow when she discovered he was Enigma. Assuming, of course, that he hadn't completely misread everything, and she was Butterfly. Actually, things might work out better if she wasn't Butterfly. Then he could continue Operation Thaw without worries. But then, if he broke things off with Butterfly, he could blow his cover with Exclusive Services.

"It has to be her!" he thought angrily. Absently, he traced his fingers over her exposed abdomen. She sighed happily and snuggled closer against him, reminding him why he was here. Determined to enjoy every moment he had with her, he brushed a kiss against her temple and followed her into dreamland.

Word count: 1961 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	22. Chapter 22

Rated: M for language and **SMUT**. Not mine, not making any money. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 22--**

* * *

Friday...

When she woke she immediately realized her Cuban heater was missing. Guess they weren't going to have that talk about why he was there after all. That was okay, she knew they'd be having that conversation at some point today. She padded into the kitchen to make coffee and feed Rex. Then she flipped on her computer to see if she had any emails from Enigma. She had no idea what the plans were.

"Butterfly, I'd like to make your day special, please call the number below and tell them who you are. They will work with you to make all arrangements including bringing you to meet me for dinner. Please call them before 10. Until tonight carina, Enigma."

Hmm, that is interesting. She looked at the clock, 9:34. Crap, she better call them right away. "Hello, my name is Stephanie Plum, um code name Butterfly," she said when a polite voice answered. "Ah, yes, Butterfly. Arrangements have been made for you to come to New York and spend the day. Your ride, if you'll provide me with your pick up location, will be there at 10:30."

She laughed, gave them the information, accepted their instructions and hung up the phone. "Batman sure is playing this to the hilt," she thought. "As if he couldn't have just told the driver her address."

Next, she called the bonds office and Rangeman to let them know she was taking the day off. Then she jumped in the shower and hurried to get ready. Her ride would be there in less than an hour.

* * *

At precisely 10:30 there was a knock on her door. She opened it to find an older man in a suit waiting. He looked like a retired version of a Merry Man. "Hello, ma'am, I'm Roger. I'll be your chauffeur today. Are you ready?"

"Yes, just let me grab my purse." She secured her apartment and headed down the stairs with Roger. Outside a stretch limo waited. "Wow," she said, "this seems a little excessive."

Roger chuckled, "Perhaps, ma'am but you should enjoy it anyway."

"Please don't call me ma'am. I'm not that old. Steph or Stephanie or even Ms. Plum if you must, but not ma'am."

"Ok, Ms. Plum." He opened the door for her and she climbed in. As soon as she got in she realized why Ranger had chosen this particular limo. It had a bed in the back. Champagne and chocolate covered strawberries were waiting on the bar. The little window between the driver and the back opened, "Ms. Plum? I was informed you probably haven't had breakfast yet and was asked to pick these up for you." He handed her a to-go cup of coffee and a bag from Tasty Pastry. Yum, Boston Creme donuts. She happily ate her breakfast and then crawled into the bed to take a nap.

* * *

He was anxiously pacing the floor in his office when Tank came in. "Man, what is up with you today?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"Uh huh, right. That's why you were completely distracted during the Perez meeting. That's why you're in here pacing."

"I..."

"Don't even try to deny it. I know you and I know that's what you're in here doing."

He ran his hand through his hair in a nervous gesture, "I'm meeting Butterfly tonight."

"I thought you weren't supposed to do that until the meet and greet on Sunday."

"I have to let her know before then. If I wait until then she'll go ballistic."

"Good point." They were quiet a moment pondering Stephanie's variations on ballistic. "So what's the plan and why are you so anxious about it?"

"The plan is to pamper her today, then have her meet me at Espejismo and tell her the truth."

"Sounds good. Why New York?"

"Harder for her to run away." Tanks hearty laugh filled the room as his phone rang.

"Yo. Affirmative. Yes. Thank you. Yes." He hung up. Tank gave him a look.

"I had Roger pick her up in the limo. He can protect her if necessary. He brought her coffee and Boston cremes and now she's asleep." He smiled. "They are on their way to Oasis."

"And?"

"And I'm offline until Sunday afternoon. Oh, and send Santos to feed Rex."

* * *

"Ms. Plum, we've arrived." Roger's voice came from somewhere near her head. Disoriented she looked around and remembered she was in a limo. The voice was coming from a speaker by her head. She depressed the button, "Where are we?"

"Oasis. You've been scheduled for an afternoon of pampering." She grinned. A few moments later Roger was opening her door for her. "They'll call me when you're done Ms. Plum and I'll drive you to dinner."

"Okay. Thanks Roger."

* * *

Entering the spa she was greeted by a pleasant woman, "Hello Ms. Plum. I'm Erica and I'll be coordinating your treatments today. We have you scheduled for the Goddess package. You're scheduled for a ninety minute massage, a body treatment and facial, and a mani pedi. Would you like to change any part of that?"

"Um, yeah, can I get a bikini wax, too?"

"Of course. Well also be providing lunch for you when you're ready. We'll do your massage last so you're nice and relaxed. Before your massage, however, a representative from Turn will be here with a selection of dresses and accessories for you."

With that she was ushered off into the depths of the spa. Her body treatment was first. She chose a sugar scrub and her body felt gloriously soft after. Her lunch was a delicious selection of meats, cheeses and fruit with a light white wine while her nails were done. Her wax was done next. She hoped her evening ended with Ranger appreciating her nearly naked mound. Knotting her robe, she headed to the lounge area where her evenings attire awaited.

There was a nice selection of a dozen dresses, all with matching shoes and lingerie. She chose a sapphire wrap dress with a swirly mid-thigh skirt. The fabric was light and loose, low cut in the back, draping open to expose a slight amount of cleavage. She opted to go bra-less and picked a tiny matching lace thong. The dress was paired with strappy silver sandals with a 3-inch heel.

"Excellent choices, ma'am. Those will be beautiful on you. The spa will have them ready for you when you're done with your treatments." She thanked the man and headed off to enjoy her massage.

Her masseuse expertly kneaded her into a relaxed pile of goo. She was well on her way to Ranger filled dreamland when Erica gently shook her, "Ms. Plum, we need to do your hair and makeup." Reluctantly she pulled her robe back around her and let Erica lead her to another room. The stylist expertly tamed her curls, twisting them on her head, leaving a few bouncy tendrils around her face. Her makeup was done simply, making her eyes standout, light gloss gracing her lips.

She pulled her dress on and stared at the woman in the mirror. She was elegant and amazing. Her skin glowed, from her stunning eyes, to her pouty lips, to her red-tipped toes, the woman reeked of confidence. She couldn't believe it was her. Butterfly had truly emerged.

* * *

Roger pulled up to the valet and opened her door, Ms. Plum, you look absolutely resplendent. It has been a pleasure driving you today. Welcome to Espejismo. Its Spanish for mirage, in case you were wondering. The maitre'de is expecting you and will take you to your party.

She was suddenly very, very nervous. What if she was wrong and it wasn't Ranger? What if it was Ranger and he was upset that she was Butterfly? What if this was just a game? A short, little French man broke through her musings and led her through the restaurant to private dining room tucked in the back. He pulled aside a heavy curtain and gestured for her to go in.

She stood in wonderment for a moment taking in the scene before her. The room was larger than her living room. She felt like she'd stepped into a luxury suite, not a backroom in a restaurant. A small table for two had been set up on the left side of the room. It was set with candles and a single red rose sat at one of the place settings. Rich linens draped the table and the chairs were dressed in black slip covers, tied with red bows. The right end of the room was dominated by a large fireplace decorated with an elegant marble mantle. Jack Vettriano's painting, "Dance Me to the End of Love" graced the wall above it. A very comfortable looking leather loveseat was placed a few feet in front of the fireplace.

The room was beautiful and reeked of sensuality, but it was the man standing at the fireplace that took her breath away. His back was to the doorway and she couldn't see his face. His left arm was braced against the mantle as he gazed into the dancing flames. His black suit was expensive and perfectly cut. It skimmed across his shoulders revealing his grace but hiding his danger. His right hand rested on his hip, pushing the jacket back to expose a glint of steel at his back. "Ranger." The word came out as barely more than a breath, but it startled him out of his thoughts and he whipped around to look at her.

His eyes flashed with emotions: love, lust, worry, fear. In two seconds, he crossed the room and pulled her into a crushing embrace. He pulled her head against his chest and she listened to the steady beat of his heart. His embrace had an air of desperation as if she was a figment of his imagination and he was afraid if he let go shed disappear. She held him just as tightly and savored the emotion he was openly showing her.

"Babe," his voice cracked slightly, "I can't believe you're here." She didn't say anything, just gave him a reassuring squeeze. Keeping an arm around her, he led her to the loveseat and sat down, pulling her down into his embrace. This time he sat so he could see the door, back against the arm rest, her back to his front, his arms locked around her. "You don't seem surprised to see me."

"I figured it out earlier in the week."

"How?"

"The teddy bear."

Incredulously, he asked, "The bear?"

"I noticed the bear in your bedroom when we were there. My spidey sense went haywire when I read your email. I used Rangeman to do some research and found out about Lourdes. The pieces fit."

He chuckled, "I really need to stop underestimating your instincts."

"You going to explain whats going on now?"

The chuckle died on his lips and he sighed, "Yes."

He wound a loose curl around his finger as he spoke, "Stephanie, I love you."

She started to speak but he cut her off, "And, before you get all riled up, I know I've said some dumb shit in the past. I meant it when I said that my life didn't lend itself to relationships. It doesn't. I live a fast paced, dangerous life, but that doesn't mean with effort I cant have a relationship. And it never meant that I didn't want one. In fact, I realized awhile ago that we already had a relationship. Maybe not one in the traditional sense, but we care for each other, we worry about each other, we're there for each other. You are my best friend, Stephanie. Tank may be my brother and may know all my secrets, but you are my best friend. You are the one I think of when I wake up in the morning, the last one I think about before I go to bed at night. You are my comfort. You are the light to my dark, the good to my bad, the yin to my yang. You make me whole. That's the reason I visit you in the middle of the night. Just being near you, watching you sleep, centers me, brings me back from the edge."

"After you helped find those punk kids, I wanted you to stay but wasn't sure how to say it. I spent a couple days trying to figure it out, but by then you had gone back with Morelli. Things seemed to be going good between the two of you and I didn't want to mess that up. I wanted you to be happy, even if you weren't with me. It killed me to see you every day in my office, my gym, my apartment and not be able to do more than steal occasional kisses, so I went to Miami to try to clear my head. I called my dad and had a long talk with him. He helped me realize I wasn't doing you or me any favors by assuming I knew what you wanted."

"I'm sorry. I was wrong to assume you wanted the Burg life your mom keeps trying to push on you. I was wrong to tell you to go back to Morelli. My father said that a person like you comes along once in a lifetime and I was being a fool. I told him I was going to wrap a few things up in Miami and when I got back to Trenton I was going to bring you over to meet him."

"Before I could, however, I was called out on an assignment. I never stopped thinking about you." He released a harsh laugh, "I had this whole plan about how I was going to introduce you to my family, be more open with you, everything I could do to convince you to dump Morelli for good. Imagine my surprise when I got back and found out not only had you dumped Morelli while I was gone, but were on a date already. At first I was upset, but then I was just even more determined to move forward with my plan. But then you went and turned my world upside down."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, I'll explain more later because I actually need to pull you in on the mission, but long story short Exclusive Services is suspected of selling girls on the black market. In an effort to learn more about their organization, I joined. I had absolutely no idea you were using their services. I do a lot of business under the name, Marc Pardo. I'm actually a silent partner at this restaurant and own the condos above it. Marc is exactly the type of reclusive, successful businessman, Exclusive Services tries to secure as a client. I had to do the tests and paperwork same as you. I could have had Lester or one of the guys make stuff up but I decided to be honest. You can imagine my shock when Loretta called to tell me someone matched me 96%. At first I thought it was a setup, but then there were things Butterfly said that sounded way too much like a certain brunette bounty hunter. I was suspicious when Butterfly had a similar love of the rain that you do. But you confirmed it for me when you talked about being Wonder Woman and jumping off your roof. You blew me away and scared me to death at the same time. I wasn't sure how you'd react when it finally came out who Enigma was. I really doubted myself when you asked me to come have dinner Friday after Butterfly had already committed to dinner with Enigma."

"And then," he exclaimed. "You've been throwing me off all week, with the kisses, the sushi, the panties!" He leaned down and gently nibbled on her earlobe, "You are a very naughty girl. I have plans for those panties now."

"Please, Babe," he sat back up and fingered her charm bracelet, "I gave you this because you hold my heart in your hands. I've been honest about everything I've said and everything Enigma's said, I love you. I want this. I want us. Please tell me we can try."

* * *

She sat in silence processing everything he said. He loved her. He loved her! Her heart rejoiced. Her head on the other hand, had some questions.

"What if Butterfly wasn't me?"

"It wouldn't have mattered. That is one thing Exclusive Services does right. If a connection isn't made, both parties part ways with no repercussions. If we took a test and it said there was a five percent chance we were a match and a ninety-five percent chance we should run away as fast as we could, I would still love you. The heart knows its mate and mine knows you. What about you?"

"I can't say that I wasn't stunned when they told me I had matched someone that high. I had already been communicating with a couple potential matches. I was intrigued, but after you took me to meet your parents I decided it didn't matter. For whatever reason, you had let me in. It wasn't an opportunity I was going to let pass by. I thought about why I kept going back to Joe when in my heart I knew I loved you. I realized it was because I was protecting my heart. I knew if you didn't feel the same way I did it would shatter my heart. I also realized that I had never really given you any reason to believe I wouldn't continue to go back to Joe."

"There is supposed to be a meet and greet Sunday for Exclusive Services. I figured I'd apply some pressure of my own and see how you reacted. If you continued to open up to me I'd skip the Meet and Greet. If you didn't, well, I'd rather be your friend than nothing at all. I was going to give you until Saturday to say something. If you didn't, then I was going to go ahead and meet Enigma."

"When I realized you were Enigma, I was scared. I thought maybe you wanted more, just not with me. I love you. I have for a long time. I want us, Ranger."

"Carlos, Babe, Carlos," and he captured her lips with his. "Let's eat. I have plans for us that require nourishment."

* * *

After their dinner was served, she asked, "Tell me about the case."

He explained how they'd been chasing a gun runner and had stumbled into the kidnapping/extortion scheme. A combined Russian/US task force had asked them to investigate and provide them with enough information to bring all the players in. "Ram speaks Russian fluently so we left him to infiltrate the operation there. We received notice that the daughter of a Russian official was kidnapped. We believe she has been brainwashed and will be at the Meet and Greet on Sunday. Assuming she is who we think she is, she's been paired with a Shane Doyle." She chocked on her wine when he said that. "What?"

Wiping her mouth, she said, "Shane Doyle was the guy I was with at La Fiesta the other night. He was one of my matches. I told him we should just be friends. He and Lester chatted for quite awhile after you left."

"Hang on a second." He picked up his phone, put it on speaker and dialed.

"Hey Boss."

"Santos, did you forget to tell me something?"

"Oh shit. You're with Stephanie, aren't you?"

"That's irrelevant, Lester."

"Um, I forgot to tell you that I had Silvio hack Executive Services accounts and knew two weeks ago that Stephanie was your match?"

"And?"

"And I didn't tell you that I met with and had a long conversation with her former match, Shane Doyle."

"And?"

"And I might have told Tank, but forgot to tell you that Shane told me he had been matched with a Russian beauty code named Liberty."

"You're on monitor duty for a month Santos, and you'll meet me in the gym on Monday at 0400." He hung up.

"We need to go to the meet and greet on Sunday and act like were meeting for the first time. We also need to meet with Shane before hand and pull him in on this, especially since he'll recognize me from La Fiesta. I'll need you to find Liberty and try to determine if she's the kidnapped daughter. We also need to figure out who the inside man is at Exclusive Services. We know it isn't Loretta. Have you gotten weird vibes from anyone you've talked to there?"

"The receptionist annoyed me. I didn't like the woman who issued the tests. She seemed untrustworthy." The finished their meal and the waiter served dessert.

It was a decadent chocolate Creme Brule. She moaned at the first bite. "Oh, yum. Here you have to try this. It tastes like the best hot chocolate I've ever had." He smiled and took a small bite. In moments, her moans had him in a state. He took her spoon and pulled her out of the chair and into his lap. He took the spoon and spread the rich custard across her bottom lip. Then he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth and licked the custard back off. "Mmm, I like it better this way." He took the spoon again, this time swiping it along her jaw. Once again, he pressed his tongue to her hot skin licking his way across her jaw, ending by capturing her mouth with his. He pulled away and fed her a spoonful. She savored it while he nuzzled her neck. "God Babe, you make me insane," he murmured.

She took the spoon from him and quickly finished her dessert. Putting the spoon down she shifted in his lap to straddle his thighs, her skirt hiked up her legs. Threading her hands through his silky hair, she tipped his head up. "I love you, Carlos." That was all he needed to be spurred into action. He devoured her mouth like a starving man, eliciting gasps of pleasure from her. Shamelessly she ground her hips against him. She could feel him hard and ready beneath her. Gruffly, he pushed her off his lap and stood up, "Let's go." His eyes were deep pools of obsidian and his breath rough as he grasped her hand and tugged her after him towards to the elevator. "Where are we going?"

The elevator opened and he pulled her in against his chest, his palm possessively resting on her ass. "Penthouse," was his terse reply as he punched a button and swiped a security card. He gently pulled the pins out of her hair, releasing her riotous curls. They tumbled down around her shoulders and he buried his face in them. Grasping her ass in both hands he pulled her tight against his groin. She moaned in response and leaned up to kiss him again. He gave her a light kiss and said, "Cameras. Wait."

* * *

The moment the penthouse door shut, they moved against each other. Years of pent up sexual energy was unleashed. Frantic to feel skin against skin, she tugged at Rangers starched white shirt and struggled with the buttons. Unwilling to break contact for even a moment, he threaded one hand into her curls and continued his assault on her mouth, while using the other to rip his shirt open, buttons flying everywhere. Her hands immediately snaked inside his shirt touching him everywhere, pinching his nipples, pulling him closer. He growled and pulled her hips up to him, wrapping her legs around his waist. Releasing her hair, he pulled her dress down revealing her rosy tipped breasts. He pushed her against the wall and captured one pink tip in his mouth, sucking until she moaned. He shifted, undid his pants and released his cock. Her panties were soaked and he stroked against her. "Fuck me, now," she begged. He pulled her panties aside and thrust two fingers deep into her heat. "Christ, Babe, you're so wet." She quivered against him, "Now. Carlos. Now." He tore her panties away and pressed his head to her pussy. She tightened her legs around his waist and pulled him in. She cried out as he filled her. He stroked into her hard and fast. He could feel her pulsing around him. He reached down and pinched her clit, and they tumbled over together, calling each other's name.

* * *

Still sheathed inside her he moved them to the bed. He lay back, pulling her with him. She lay replete on top of him, listening to his heart beat, enjoying the feel of him buried inside her. His hands smoothly stroked small circles onto her back. "Babe?"

"Hmm?" she responded.

"Let me love you."

"Always." He flipped them over and pulled out of her. She whimpered slightly at the loss, but her attention was diverted as he began a slow exploration of her face. He kissed her forehead, her eyelids, her nose, and each cheek, murmuring Spanish as he went. She caught words Hector had helped her learn like, "amante, lover," "hermosa, beautiful," "querida, dear," "carina, darling," "por siempre always," "te amo, I love you." His mouth slid along her jaw and he nipped her earlobe. His gentle caresses moved down her neck licking, sucking, and biting. He recaptured her lips, plunging his tongue into her mouth, tasting her. She moaned with pleasure.

Leaving her lips, his mouth kissed past the sweet curve of her neck to her breasts. Cupping them, he stroked his thumbs across her nipples; drawing one to his mouth he suckled on the rosy peak, rolling it on his tongue. He kneaded her other breast enjoying how her soft, heavy flesh felt in his hands. She groaned low in her throat as he switched to give the other nipple the same attention. Releasing her nipple, he continued to kiss his way down her belly, stopping to French kiss her naval.

Settling between her legs, he drew her legs up, her thighs alongside his head. Starting at her knee, he placed hot, wet kisses on her inner thigh. Licking, biting, sucking as he moved up her leg. As he drew closer, he could see their combined juices glistening on her lips and she squirmed beneath him in anticipation. He reached the juncture of her legs and turned his attention to her other knee causing her to beg, "Carlos, please."

"Please what, amante?"

"Please, I want you to touch me. I want you to taste me. Please Carlos."

He smiled against her leg, and continued his slow decent to her heaven. When her reached her center, her body was trembling in anticipation. His kissed her swollen lips, pulling them into his mouth, sucking on them, running his tongue over them. Plunging his tongue into her hot hole he tasted their combined flavors and growled in satisfaction. "Mine," he whispered, "You're finally mine." He flicked his tongue over her hard clit and her hips jerked up against him. "Easy amante." He used his hands to hold her hips tight and renewed his attack on her engorged nub. He inserted two long fingers in her pussy and she moaned in satisfaction. Her muscles clenched on his fingers as he rocked them in and out of her body, curling them up against her g-spot. He could tell she was close and increased his speed. He bit down on her clit and pushed her over. Her sweet nectar flooded his hand and he greedily licked it up.

As she calmed, he crawled back up her body and traced her lips with his fingers. "Umm," she moaned as she licked her juices from his fingers, pulling each finger into her hot mouth to savor each bit. "Please Carlos, I need you," she rocked her hips up against his impressive erection. He arranged the pillows so she was half sitting and kneeled before her. Lifting her hips to his, he pulled her thighs wide exposing her open lips to them both. "Can you see how wet you are amante? How hard I am for you?" He pushed into her, "Oh god, you're so tight, so perfect, Babe." He continued to ease into her until he was buried to his balls. He pulled out part way and slowly pushed back in. Her eyes rolled back in her head with the pleasure. "Open your eyes. Watch amante." She opened her eyes and looked where they were joined. His dark skin contrasting with her light; her puffy pink lips caressing his smooth, hard steel with every stroke as he disappeared inside her. It was beautiful; "I love you Carlos." Her eyes met his and he could see all the love she felt. The need to mark her as his own overtook his desire to take his time. He wrapped his body around her, stroking his cock in her hard and fast. She met him thrust for thrust, clenching her walls around him like a vice. He captured her mouth and their tongues dueled in the same rhythm as their hips. She wrenched her mouth away and cried, "I'm gonna cum." Wanting to join her, he stroked faster and sucked on the pulse point at her neck. Reaching between them he pinched her clit just as he bit her neck marking her. Her pussy spasmed around him as she came, pulling his own orgasm from him. "Fuck, Stephanie," he cried as coated her walls with his seed.

They lay together after, basking in each others warmth.

* * *

Word count: 4930 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	23. Chapter 23

Rated: M for language and SMUT. Actually this chapter is pretty much all smut, so if you're offended you may want to skip this one. Not mine, not making any money. Thanks again to my friend, Lauri, for being my sounding board. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 23--**

* * *

Friday night, NYC...

He lay listening to her breathing and mentally cheered. Operation Thaw had been a success. He was open and honest with her and in turn, she told him she loved him. If anything, Enigma and Butterfly had made things easier instead of making things more complicated. He had been worried, but as Enigma he'd been able to open to her even more. As Butterfly, she had left her fear behind and had been honest as well. He was still surprised she had figured out he was Enigma. He didn't think he had given her that many clues; the bear, of all things! He hadn't even realized she had noticed it. When he saw her in his bedroom she was looking at the items on his shelves. Her instincts were so good. He really needed to pull her into the A-Team at Rangeman. They needed her unique point of view to help them. They had all done their share of strategizing in the military and had Black Ops training which allowed them to think outside the box, but sometimes the rigidity that had been drilled into their heads still took over. She had none of that, nothing but her free spirit and the whims that took her.

She snuggled against him and he decided to wake her up for a shower. Rubbing circles on her stomach, he placed soft kisses on her mouth, "Wake up, Babe. Let's get cleaned up." He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of bed, leading her into the bathroom. He turned on the water and adjusted the temperature. As the water warmed up and filled the bathroom with steam, he pulled her to him and they watched each other in the mirror. His dark skin contrasted with hers as his hand splayed across her flat stomach. Sweeping her hair away, he nuzzled her neck, kissing her below her ear. Making eye contact in the mirror, he cupped her breast with his other hand and rolled her nipple between his thumb and finger. He slid the hand on her stomach down until he cupped her mound. Her eyes widened in anticipation and she felt his cock harden against her ass. His eyes never left hers as he slipped a finger between her lips and circled her clit. She moaned and leaned into him. Stroking his finger down her slit, he found her wet and dipped a finger in, followed by another. Babe, he groaned. He pulled his fingers out and trailed them across her lips before bringing them to his own mouth and licking them clean. "You taste so good." She licked her lips and tasted herself.

He placed her hands on the counter and spread her legs. "Don't move, Babe." He crouched behind her and tongued her slit while rubbing her clit. She was so turned on by watching him touch her in the mirror that her orgasm ripped through her unexpectedly when two fingers followed his tongue into her pussy. He licked and sucked her juices as she came and when he stood back up his face glistened with her cum. She started to turn around to kiss him, but he held her still, "I said, don't move." He slid his cock between her legs, sliding between her slick lips, but not entering her. In the mirror she could see his head peek out between her legs. He pressed himself up against her and she rotated her hips in an attempt to slide him in.

"Patience, amante," he said as he continued to stroke against her. He played with her breasts as he continued to tease her. Every time his head bumped across her opening her muscles clenched in anticipation. Finally, he changed the angle of his hips and dipped his head into her tight hole. "Keep your eyes open, Babe." Her eyes were glazed with lust and he loved watching her face knowing he was responsible for the reactions he saw. He continued to tease her with his cock and hands. She had a death grip on the counter. "Let me see you touch yourself." Timidly, she took moved her hand to her clit and rubbed small circles around it. He took that moment to thrust forward again and her hands brushed across them both. Groaning, his control snapped and he thrust into her fully and her breath caught in her throat, "Oh God Carlos." He plunged roughly into her several times and she forgot to touch herself.

He grasped her hand with his and together they rubbed her clit and his cock as he plunged in and out of her, his voice was hoarse when he ordered, "Touch us." Together they watched each other in the mirror, his face full of love and passion, his eyes glittering black with lust, her eyes cobalt blue with need, her face reflecting his love and passion. Their eyes met in the mirror and their casual pace broke, holding her focus he frantically increased his speed and together they stroked her clit. His face contorted into pleasure and pain as her walls clenched tightly around him as she came. Using her fingers to grasp himself tighter he stroked twice and together they felt his cock pulse as he came too.

His knees were weak and she sagged against him. Opening the shower door, he maneuvered them inside, and they sank together to the floor under the hot water.

* * *

The morning sun filtered into the bedroom as she tried to stretch her deliciously sore body, but the strong arms encircling her body tightened. "Hmm, leggo, bathroom," she mumbled. The arms reluctantly relaxed and she slipped out of bed to take care of business.

Looking at herself in the mirror she made an assessment, she looked well and truly, fucked. No, not fucked she amended, loved. She looked like someone had made sweet love to her all night. She liked the look. After smoothing her hair, brushing her teeth and applying some lip gloss to her swollen lips, she headed back to bed. Stopping in the doorway, her breath was once again, taken away by the sight before her. The man was heaven. His peaceful look and even breath indicated he'd fallen back asleep. The sheet had slipped low on his hips, exposing his luscious body. His dark, silky hair fanned out slightly on the pillow, begging for her fingers to run through it. His face was slightly darkened with rough stubble. He had a strong forehead, not too tall, not too short, no evidence of a receding hairline anytime in his future; graced by a slight widow's peak where his hair parted naturally when loose. His eyebrows were the perfect arches most girls could only have after waxing, plucking and lining; thick but not bushy, flawlessly highlighting his rich brown eyes. Those beautiful eyes were closed and framed by long, thick lashes, drawing attention to where they rested against his high cheekbones. His nose was slim, but not skinny. It had a slight, barely noticeable bump indicating it might have been broken once. Oh, and those lips, created by Aphrodite herself, strong and lush and perfectly formed, capable of both sweet terms of endearment and dirty promises of ecstasy. Yes, those lips were magic, blessed by the Gods, eliciting moans and screams of pleasure as they tortured and teased.

Her eyes roamed down his neck and she swallowed deeply as her mouth instantly watered at the thought of running her tongue down his throat, sucking on the pulse point she could see quivering at its base. His strong shoulders emphasized the hollow of his collar bone and she longed to swirl her tongue over it. He was leaning slightly to his right side, his arm draped over her pillow. His left arm was bent, his forearm over his body, his left hand resting near his hip, talented fingers loosely curled. They drew her attention down through the valley of his chiseled pectoral muscles, past his brown, flat nipples to the peaks and dips of his perfectly defined abdominal muscles. Eight clearly defined ridges, begged to be touched as they dominated the path to his narrow hips. His flat stomach was trimmed in a trail of fine hair leading to nirvana. The trail disappeared beneath the sheet, but its silky fabric did nothing to hide the evidence of the impressive tool hidden from view. She was so turned on just from watching him sleep her juices slicked her thighs. Stifling a moan, she quietly moved to the bed, determined to worship at his temple.

In an effort to wake him up slowly with pleasure, she carefully crept onto the bed and knelt beside him, slowly, softly trailing her fingertips over his abs. His skin broke out in goose bumps along the path. She glanced at his face, but couldn't see any change. She bent down and followed the path with her lips, murmuring her love against his hot skin as she softly kissed him, took small tastes, and inhaled his scent. Brushing the sheet back, she eyed her prize hungrily. He was semi-erect. She placed kisses from its base, up to the tip and back down, and then ran her tongue along the same path. He twitched involuntarily and quickly grew harder until he was standing at full attention. She licked around his head like it was an ice cream cone and heard the quick intake of his breath. She paused to look at his face and he groaned, "Oh, God Babe, please don't stop." Pleased he was enjoying her attention and equally happy she no longer needed to be so quiet, she grasped him with her hand and continued her efforts.

Swirling her tongue around his head, she used her hand to stroke him, while she sucked him like a lollipop. She loved the feel of him in her mouth, smooth, soft skin over hot, hard steel. She pumped him in and out of her mouth, twisting so he could see her cheeks bulge as his cock filled her. Finally, she took him deeper with every stroke until he was fully embedded down her throat. She smoothed her tongue over him while suckling on him, running her fingertips over his abs, idly tracing the path of hair. With the other hand she reached under him and cupped his balls pulling, massaging, loving each one. She released his cock and pulled one into her mouth and a hearty groan escaped him. She followed the same action with the other and his cock jumped in her hand. She lovingly bathed them with her mouth and then moved back up his hard length, running her tongue up the deep vein to his beautiful crown. Reaching back down, she cupped his balls and pulled firmly. Feeling naughty, she reached down and rimmed his ass with her index finger. He instantly jerked and thrust up into her hand muttering, "O, dios, por favor amante." She knew por favor meant 'please' so she moistened her finger and rimmed him again, this time applying pressure against him. Again, he reacted and moaned Spanish. She moistened her finger again and pushed gently into him. "Oh, fuck, yeah," he exclaimed, his eyes rolling back in his head. She gloried in the affect she had on him and continued her assault with her mouth while wriggling her finger in his ass. She bumped against his prostate and he clenched tight around her. Hmm, she thought, he likes that. Pressing firmer, he gasped for breath while his cock twitched uncontrollably, his balls tightened and then he came with a shout, filling her mouth with cum. She continued to suck and swallow while gently removing her finger.

She was licking him clean when he grabbed her roughly and pulled her up his chest. Twisting his hands in her hair he held her head firmly and possessed her mouth. His lips pressed firmly against hers as his tongue delved deep in her mouth, tasting every dark recess. Finally, breaking away, gasping for air, he settled her head on his chest. She could hear his heart slow from racing to a steady pace. "Mmm, I like how you taste after you swallow my cum. Christ, Babe. That was so amazing."

"I've never done that before. I didn't know how much you'd like it."

"I'll let you explore my body any way you want Babe, as long as you trust me to return the favor."

"I trust you, Carlos."

"We can have a safe word, Babe, if you get uncomfortable. How about Rex?"

She laughed softly, "Okay, Rex is good."

Suddenly, she bolted straight up, "Omigod, Rex!"

He reached for her and pulled her back down, "I took care of it, Babe. Santos is feeding him."

"You always think of everything, don't you?" Her stomach growled loudly.

He laughed, "I try. Lets go take care of breakfast so you have energy for the other things I have in mind."

* * *

She looked around and sure enough, Ranger had packed her a bag. She held it up and gave him a look. He smiled, "Ella."

"I love that woman," she sighed as she perused the contents of the bag. Ella had packed everything she needed and even included some sexy lingerie. She noticed a garment bag hanging in the closet next to her dress and wondered what treasure Ella had put in there. Slipping into a pair of boy shorts and a tank top, she wandered into the kitchen to see her Cuban god in nothing but a pair of boxers pulling stuff out of the fridge.

He smiled when he saw her and pulled her into his embrace, "Can you help?"

"Is your insurance current?"

Kissing her nose, he said, "You never disappoint, Babe. Will you section up the grapefruit while I make the omelets?"

Standing side by side at their cutting boards they feel into companionable silence while they worked. She sliced the grapefruit in half and then using a funny serrated knife with a curved end, loosened each piece of grapefruit. She watched as he efficiently chopped the ham, peppers, onions and mushrooms. She started the toast while he quickly whipped up two egg beater omelets.

As they sat down with their plates and a cup of coffee she eyed her omelet suspiciously, "This looks really healthy."

"Try it."

She did and moaned. When she wasn't looking he had filled hers with cheese. "Hmm, thank you."

He watched her eat her omelet and adjusted himself slightly. He wanted to do this with her every day. He wanted to wake up with her in his arms, share meals with her, work with her, make love to her. Maybe he needed to make some adjustments to the ultimate outcome of Operation Thaw.

* * *

Word count: 2464 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	24. Chapter 24

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 24--**

* * *

Saturday, NYC...

After the dishes were done, he looked at her and said, "We need to talk." Her heart instantly froze. He had spoken the four words she dreaded.

"Babe! It isn't anything bad. Come sit with me." She snuggled up with him on the couch, still leery. "Can you reach Shane?"

"Yes."

"Good. We need to talk to him first thing tomorrow to bring him up to speed. Does he live in Trenton?"

"No, he lives here in the City."

"Oh, maybe he can meet us tomorrow for breakfast then."

"Sure, I'll find out. I assume, since Lester was able to figure out I was your match, that we have access to Exclusive Services database?"

"Yes. We can get into those files."

"Then we should run searches on all the girls and see if we can dig anything up."

"Babe, you've already been running searches on the girls."

"I have?" She pondered that thought for a moment then started laughing, "Oh! All those searches from Lester! I started wondering if he was screening dates through Rangeman but dismissed the idea as being ludicrous."

"Did anything set your senses tingling?"

"Not so far, sorry. Well, actually there was this one girl, Larisa, I couldn't get much info on her. She just came here as an exchange student from Russia. Only a general search was requested so I didn't dig any further."

"Hmm, we'll need to do a deeper search on her. We need to talk about tomorrow night. Exclusive Services stands to lose a large fee if they can't get Marc Pardo matched. We could play off like we can't stand each other and have them match Marc with someone else. I think they'd likely resort to a fake match just to secure their fee which could mean well get one of the girls from Russia. Or, we could stop hiding our love from each other and the world and do whatever comes naturally tomorrow."

"What about the mission, Ranger?"

"Marc Pardo's assistant, Lance Johnson will probably be so impressed at his boss''s results that he will immediately join Exclusive Services in the hopes that he too will find true love."

"And which Merry Man has the illustrious privilege of being Mr. Johnson?" she asked laughing.

"Why the big Johnson himself, Lester, of course." At his answer she laughed even harder until tears rolled down her face.

Turning around to kneel in front of him on the couch, she gasped out,"Oh, what will his code name be? Slugger? The Big Unit? The Grand Salami?" She bounced on her knees with laughter.

"Babe!" He hugged her to him dissolving into laughter himself.

* * *

"Santos. Boss wants you to contact Exclusive Services and get registered."

"I'm going undercover? Whoo hoo! Bring on the ladies."

"No woman is going to be your match."

"You're wrong man, they are ALL going to be my match. All ladies, young and old, love the Lester."

"The Lester?"

"Oh yeah."

"In that case, I'm going to have Stephanie's Grandma Mazur join too."

* * *

Authors note: Hello everyone. Thank you for reading the latest chapter of Operation Thaw. I want to apologize for this chapter being so short. Real life has really been kicking my ass lately. I hope to get things back on track very soon! Thank you for your understanding.

Word count: 506 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	25. Chapter 25

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, fav'd, and alerted my story! I try to respond to every review but may have missed a few!

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 25--**

* * *

Saturday, Trenton...

* * *

"Holy shit, you're not going to believe this. She's already a client."

"Seriously? Since when?"

"1998. Is that when her husband died?"

"I don't know. Call me sick, but do they match at all?"

"No, call _them_ sick because they do! Damn! I wonder if that is genetic? Ninety-two percent match in all sexual areas; two to ten in every other area."

Tank chuckled evilly, "Set it up."

"Will do."

* * *

"Ms. Mazur?"

"Speaking, yes."

"This is Loretta from Exclusive Services. I was calling to see if you could come to our Meet and Greet tomorrow evening. I know it is short notice and unusual circumstances, but as our most um, established client when we see a possibility of a match we want to jump on it." _Plus, we can finally get you off our books_, she thought.

"You're kidding! Is it a hot, young stud with a nice package?"

"Ms. Mazur, you'll just have to see for yourself. We'll see you tomorrow at La Estrella del Norte at 7:00."

"Hot damn! I have to go shopping!"

* * *

Back in NYC...

They were snuggled on the couch watching a movie when she asked, "Ranger, do you have a laptop here?"

"Sure, why?"

"You got me thinking about those searches I ran. I want to double check something on Larisa if I can."

"No problem, Babe." He took her into the office and set her up on his laptop. "This is a secure laptop direct to Rangeman. Please don't check your mail or surf the net on it." He went to make some phone calls and left her alone. She came out forty-five minutes later very excited.

"Ranger! She's registered right here at Columbia University. I did some digging and found out where she is living. I also pulled her schedule and she has an afternoon art class today. I called the Professor and she said we could audit the class today. Can we go check it out?"

Enthusiasm danced in her eyes. How could he say no to that? "We're supposed to be offline Babe!"

"But," she started to protest until she noticed the slight upturn to his mouth and realized he was teasing her. She gave him a wicked grin, "I can't wait to meet Fraternity Ranger."

"Fraternity Ranger?"

"You have all these personas: Mercenary Ranger, Stark Street Ranger, Wall Street Ranger. To blend in you're going to have to be Fraternity Ranger."

He pulled her into his embrace and kissed her lightly on the lips before running his tongue from the base of her neck up to her ear. She shivered. He sucked lightly on the mark he'd left the night before. Between kisses, he said, "Babe, I could never be Fraternity Ranger. Jock Ranger, Bad Boy Ranger, even Grunge Ranger, but never Fraternity Ranger." He concluded his statement by capturing her mouth in a searing kiss.

Completely dazed, she pulled slightly away from him to catch her breath. She wanted nothing more than to push him back onto the couch, straddle him and ride him like a pony, but realizing they would be late she laughed and said, "Well, whoever you're going to be, we need to get moving so I'm going to shower. Alone!"

* * *

Two hours later she was sitting in the class fifteen minutes before it was supposed to start. She wanted to be able to watch the students come in. Ranger would come in later. Her cell beeped. _She's on her way in._ They had pulled Larisa's photo from her registration. She looked a lot like the deputy prime minister's missing daughter. A few minutes later the petite blonde woman entered the classroom. She enthusiastically greeted several students before settling her canvas and supplies on an easel near the front. She spoke with a heavy European accent but her English was accurate. One minute to 4:00 the door was held open by a mocha latte hand and the teacher, her arms full of supplies, swept into the room. Ranger followed closely behind. She took a moment to appreciate how yummy he looked. Apparently he decided to go with Bad Boy Ranger. His snug faded jeans were distressed with a few rips on his left thigh and one near his right pocket. His white, yes white, T-shirt clung to every well defined muscle. He wore black biker boots and a well-worn leather jacket.

"Welcome, welcome, young artists. Time is of the essence today as our model can only be with us for two more classes." As she said this a student in the front rose up and started to remove his clothes. In a matter of moments, a handsome naked man stood before the class. Her mouth gaped open a bit, but quickly recovered as she heard Ranger chuckle quietly behind her. She turned around to give him a death glare, but her glare quickly changed to a look of surprise as he setup a canvas of his own. He leaned down, nibbled on her ear and whispered, "Pay attention to our target, Babe."

She pulled out a notebook and made some notes on the things she observed including a description of the students Larisa seemed familiar with, but she was distracted by Ranger behind her. It was quiet in the classroom and she could occasionally hear his charcoal scrape across the canvas. The model had sat on a stool in imitation of the Thinking Man. She thought it was rather odd that Ranger would sketch the model. She was even more curious when the professor came by and made a 'tsk, tsk' noise at Ranger's work. Obviously there was a lot about him she didn't know. She once again wondered what would happen at the end of the weekend.

Five minutes before the class was over Ranger packed up his stuff and left. He had carefully covered his canvas so she couldn't see his work. He was going to observe outside while she followed Larisa. She pretended to write in her notebook while she waited for Larisa to leave. Finally, she decided she couldn't wait for her any longer without bringing attention to herself. The classroom opened to a common area with an espresso stand and a small lounge area. She ordered a mocha while she waited for Larisa to come out. Taking her mocha to a cozy chair against the wall, she watched the common area and the classroom door. A mousey woman pacing near the main entrance caught her attention. Holy crap! It was the woman who issued the tests at Exclusive Services. Larisa came out of the classroom and the mousey woman quickly came over to her. Stephanie was too far away to hear what was said but it was obvious they were both agitated. The mousey woman linked her arm with Larisa's and they headed out the door. She quickly called Ranger to alert him.

"I'm right out front in the car, Babe. I see them. Come out quick. They are getting in a car." She rushed outside and climbed in the Turbo. "Good job, Babe. We may have just gotten a big break." They followed the car through traffic until they ended up in a mostly residential neighborhood. The car pulled in front of an apartment building and Larisa and the woman went inside. Larisa didn't seem to be happy but neither did she appear to be in distress.

Ranger pulled out his phone, "Get me an in depth search on the tenants at 130 W 183rd Street." He also gave Lester the license plate to search. Turning to Stephanie he said, "Hungry?"

"Yes, but I want to go run a search on that woman from Exclusive Services! This isn't the address that was on Larisa's registration. Her address was within walking distance from the campus. Maybe we should stake it out?"

"For now, why don't we head back to the penthouse and have Espejismo send up some food." He reached over and twined their fingers together, holding her hand against his thigh thinking just how perfect she was. "We can do some surveillance if necessary after we have more information from the searches."

* * *

"Hello."

"Hi Shane. Its Stephanie Plum."

"Stephanie, a cuishle! So good to hear from you."

"Thanks. Um, would you have breakfast with my boss and me tomorrow morning? We have something important we need to discuss with you."

"You have sparked my curiosity, a cuishle, so sure, where at?"

"The penthouse suite above Espejismo."

Shane let out a low whistle, "That's a nice side of town. Excellent restaurant, too. No problem, a cuishle. I'll see you at 9:00."

"Thanks. Night Shane."

"Bye, Steph." She smiled at his phone manners. He was such a good guy. She hoped he wouldn't be too upset by what they were going to tell him in the morning.

Word count: 1,473 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	26. Chapter 26

Rated: M for language and **smut** (not sure if it deserves a panty warning -- earlier chapters were hotter IMHO). Not mine, not making any money. No one previewed this time so all mistakes are mine. Thanks for reading!

* * *

**'Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 26--**

* * *

Sunday morning, New York...

She was dressed casually in a pair of black yoga pants that rode low on her hips and a tight t-shirt with 'pink' across the chest in glittery rhinestones. She looked delicious; like cotton candy. He wanted to lick her and see if she would melt under his tongue like the sugary substance. His wicked thoughts were cut short when the doorbell rang and she went to answer it.

"Hello Shane!" he heard her say, "Thanks for coming. Come on in and make yourself comfortable. Ric is just finishing breakfast." He brought in the omelets and found them staring out the large windows in the dining room.

"Amazing view isn't it?" he asked and held out a hand in greeting. "Ric Manoso. We weren't formally introduced the other night."

"Shane Doyle. Yes, I have a similar view from the other side of the park. So you're Stephanie's boss?"

"Yes. I own a security firm called Rangeman. We've been hired to find a kidnapped girl. We think you may be able to help us, but why don't we eat while we talk." They settled in at the table Ranger and Shane discussed Shane's business ventures while Stephanie dug into her breakfast. Several minutes passed before she realized both men had stopped talking and were staring at her, "What?" she asked around a mouthful of food.

"Is she always that enthusiastic?" Shane asked Ranger.

"Always," he confirmed.

"Damn," Shane shook his head ruefully. "I wish we had matched higher."

Ranger shot him a dark look, "I like you. Lets keep it that way."

Shane chuckled, "Dude, I knew she was yours the moment you guys took the dance floor."

_Dude?__ No one called him Dude_. He raised an eyebrow at Shane. Shane just smiled back and picked the conversation back up, "So explain to me about this kidnapped girl."

"Rangeman has been contracted to find a missing Russian deputy prime minister's daughter. We have reason to believe she is your match, Liberty. I can't really tell you much more than that. We're hoping to have Steph make contact with her tonight and try to ascertain if she knows who she is and how much danger she is in. Assuming you've made a connection with her, we may enlist your help in protecting her. We need to figure out who is behind the kidnapping. If we just sweep in and rescue her it will tip them off. If you take her on a date and back to your home it won't seem unusual at all."

"We also needed you to know that I joined the service as a way into the agency. I had no idea Stephanie had joined the service and she didn't know I was undercover there. Our being matched was completely legitimate. Tonight we'll have to keep up the pretense that we've never met before. We needed you to know that too so you didn't accidentally blow our cover."

Shane started laughing uncontrollably. Ranger looked decidedly annoyed. Shane finally gasped out, "Can't believe...dating service...admit...feelings." At this point tears were streaming down Shane's face and he slowly composed himself. "Oh, I'm sorry. Between what Stephanie said and what Lester said it was obvious you've both been avoiding your feelings for each other for a long time. I can't believe it took a dating service to finally get you two together. I know I haven't known either of you long, but even I could see the connection between you!"

He was really pushing Batman's buttons.

* * *

The rest of the meal was uneventful and before long they found themselves alone again, cleaning up the breakfast dishes. "So, whats the plan tonight?" she asked.

"I have to head back to Trenton in a couple hours for a meeting. Roger will pick you up when you're ready and take you to the meet and greet. Ella picked out a dress for you. If you don't like it Roger can pick you up earlier and take you shopping. I want to get to the meet and greet before you and check some things out. Plus, it would be strange if we arrived together."

"Good point, Batman."

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled the dish out of her hand, setting it on the counter. "Babe, you know I'm not Batman."

"To Gotham City? Of course. But are you my Batman? Absolutely." She felt, rather than heard, a slight sigh escape him and he rested his head on her shoulder. "I love you, Stephanie."

She turned and kissed his temple, "I love you too, Carlos." Her movement exposed her neck to him and he took advantage, pressing his lips into the hollow at her collarbone. He licked and sucked his way up to her jaw. "Mmm, you're so sweet. I love how you melt when I touch you." He turned her around, set her on the counter and continued kissing her. He nibbled on her lips and when she gasped in delight, pulled her bottom lip into his mouth, running his tongue on it. Releasing her lip, he slipped his tongue into her mouth and stroked against hers. They feasted on each other enjoying the sensations they elicited. Finally, pulling back, he rested his forehead on hers, "Wow Babe. I could kiss you all day."

"Why do I sense a 'but' coming?"

"But, there are so many other things I'd like to do to you." With that he pulled her t-shirt off and ran his fingertips over the swell of her breasts. Pulling her cups down, he groaned when her pert nipples came into view. Brushing his thumbs over them, he said, "Your breasts are so perfect. Just right for my hand," he cupped and massaged her left breast. "Or my mouth," he lowered his mouth to her right breast pulling it into his mouth while flicking her nipple with his tongue. She moaned and thrust her chest against him while threading her hands in his hair. Her bra disappeared and Ranger focused as intently on her breasts as he had earlier on her mouth. Before long they were so sensitive she was certain shed come if he just breathed on her. Wanting to see and touch him, she tugged at his t-shirt and he impatiently pulled it over his head. His jeans were low riding and as he lifted his arms she could see his erection straining against the button fly. He was apparently commando because the tip was exposed just at the waistband and she could see it glistening with his arousal. She reached out and ran her fingertip across his slit. He froze with his head still buried in the shirt and growled. Deciding that was an invitation, she leaned down and flicked her tongue across his tip while undoing the first button of his jeans. With his head revealed, she swirled her tongue around it and moaned at the taste and feel. "Mmmm," she hummed around his cock as she unbuttoned the rest of his buttons revealing his glorious hard-on. He didn't have enough control left to let her do what she wanted. Instead he pulled her off the counter, turned her around and pushed her pants down at the same time. She kicked the pants off as he plunged two fingers into her pussy. She collapsed against the counter, "Oh god, Carlos. I want you now." He immediately complied, plunging his cock deep into her wet heat.

When he was fully sheathed inside her, he pulled her tight against him and stilled, their breathing ragged as they fought for control. "Oh mi dios, usted siente tan bueno. Podra cogerle todo el dia. Te amo, beb. Le quiero por siempre. No me deje por favor nunca." Once he regained his control, he brought them right back to the edge by as he roughly stroked in and out of her. She moaned and ground against him. "More, Carlos, more." _Oh god, could she be any more perfect_, he thought. Mindful of leaving marks she couldn't hide before the meet and greet, he threaded his hand in her hair and pulled her head back and assaulted her neck. He moved his other hand down to pinch and pull her swollen nipples. She cried out again in pleasure. He could feel her tightening around his cock and could no longer resist his primal urges. Running his hand further down her body, he stroked firmly on her clit and bit down where her shoulder and neck met. She cried his name as she climaxed, triggering his own release.

* * *

After the distraction in the kitchen, they finished up the dishes and made their way to the shower. Ranger found her in the closet looking at the dress Ella bought. "Does it pass muster?" he teased.

She jumped, "Damn! Make some noise will ya?"

He snuggled against her, "That takes some of the fun out of it."

"Humph," she grunted in displeasure. "The dress is beautiful. Thank you."

"Good. I have to head back now. You okay with the plan, or do you want to come back to Trenton with me now?"

"Ella packed everything I need. I think I'm going to grab a nap and then take my time getting ready for tonight."

"I thought you might say that so I scheduled you a massage. Heinrick will be here in thirty minutes."

"See, you really are my Batman."

"Babe." He dropped a kiss on her lips and headed out the door.

* * *

Sunday night, Trenton...

Exclusive Services had reserved the banquet room of La Estrella del Norte complete with a buffet, bar and live band.

"Mr. Pardo!" Loretta had gushed, "I'm so pleased to have you here. Have you found your match acceptable so far?" He affirmed that Butterfly seemed quite lovely on paper but in person was very important.

"Of course," she acknowledged. "I was surprised to see your associate Mr. Johnson join. He doesn't seem the type to have trouble with the ladies."

"Ms. Jacobs, I hardly think it is your place to judge. Mr. Johnson's employment makes things difficult for him. He deserves a chance at happiness the same as anyone else."

Their conversation was cut short by a ruckus at the door. "Let me in you big oaf! I was invited!" Grandma Mazur's demand could be heard throughout the room. Loretta paled, "Please excuse me Mr. Pardo."

He chuckled as she ran off to placate Mrs. Mazur. He stepped back into the shadows to watch the show. The last thing he wanted was Steph's grandma to spot him. He watched in amusement as Loretta proudly walked her over to Lester and introduced them. Absolute horror crossed Lester's face before it was replaced by the patented blank look.

* * *

He felt like he was watching a horror movie as Loretta brought Steph's Grandma Mazur closer and closer to him. His mind screamed _RUN_ but he was frozen in place. She was wearing a crochet halter dress in black. Emerald green tanga panties could be seen through the material. The dress exposed loose, white, turkey skin in all the wrong places and it was obvious she was missing a bra. He vomited a little in his mouth.

"Mr. Johnson," Loretta voice sounded far away like she was under water, "may I introduce you to Edna Mazur. You both were such an unusual match we wanted you to meet immediately."

He barely managed a "gaack," but Edna jumped right in, "Mr. Johnson! Well, I know you. Sometimes you hang out with my baby granddaughter."She reached up and squeezed his bicep, "Oooh, that's nice. Why don't you buy me a drink, hot stuff?"

Loretta quickly excused herself as Grandma Mazur drug him off towards the bar. "Mrs. Mazur, there must be some mistake," he started to say but she cut him off.

"Nonsense. I always knew eventually they'd match me with a hot stud with a nice package. You do have an impressive package. Those pants show it off nicely." When she said this his balls shrunk to the size of marbles and he wished he'd worn something other than the form fitting dark grey trousers highlighting his ass-ets.

Mrs. Mazur eyed the bartender, "Whiskey, neat." "Tequila," he stated and gave the bartender a fifty; he had a feeling he was going to need it. He shot it down and asked for another and tossed it back after the first. "Margarita, rocks." After the bartender mixed his drink, he guided Mrs. Mazur by the elbow to a table.

"Mrs. Mazur, as I was saying, this must be some sort of mistake."

"Son, I'm old enough to be YOUR grandmother," naughty Mrs. Mazur disappeared and an average grandma sat in front of him, well, average if you ignored the outrageous clothing. "Of course this is a mistake. However, you can't fault a girl for trying to have a little fun, can you?" She reached out and pinched his butt.

Lester jumped and grimaced, "Well, I suppose not, ma'am."

"I would have never guessed you were hard up to find a woman."

"I, um, I'm undercover Mrs. Mazur."

"Well, ain't that a pip!" Grandma Mazur stood up, "I'll let you get back to work then. Thanks for the drink. I'm going to go give that Loretta a piece of my mind. She needs to match me with men who can keep up with me! The girls at the Clip n Curl are never going to believe this!" With that she wandered off into the crowd and he released a deep sigh of relief as he realized he got off really easy.

He was scanning the crowd and enjoying his drink when a woman at the buffet caught his attention. She wore a dark blue suit with a cream colored blouse. She looked like a paralegal or a secretary. As she moved he realized what caught his interest, barely visible up the slit in her skirt was a hint of lace stockings. His eyes followed the fine leg down to 4 blood red pumps that crossed over her foot and wrapped around her ankle. They hinted that there was more to the woman than met the eye. He was very intrigued. He was also drawn to the confident way she held her body with her mahogany brown hair bouncing around her shoulders.

She was a far cry from the type of woman he normally pursued. Feeling his gaze, she glanced up and met his eyes. Evidently he amused her because her eyes twinkled and the corners of her mouth tilted up, revealing a dimple on her left check. She brought her plate over to his table.

"Hi, I'm Nitro."

"Justice."

"You seem matchless."

"Uh, yeah, it didn't work out. You?"

"Something like that. So, what's your story?"

"Wow. Right to the point. Um, my boss keeps a crazy schedule, travels the world, and needs me with him. It is hard to meet a nice girl when you're off on an airplane before you've had a chance to share a dance."

"Hmm, well then," she stood up and offered him her hand, "shall we?"

* * *

**Oh my god, you feel so good. I could fuck you all day. I love you, Babe. I want you forever. Please don't ever leave me.

Word count: 2,515 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	27. Chapter 27

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. Response for April Challenge on Babe Squad ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 27--**

* * *

Sunday night, Trenton...

"Ms. Plum, we've arrived," Roger's voice came over the speakers. She was a nervous bundle of energy; excited and scared at the same time. Ranger wanting her still seemed too good to be true. Roger pulled her from her musings by opening her door. She wore a simple black silk dress with a hint of cleavage in the front. The back was open to the small of her back. Paired with her sparkly silver sandals, she was understated elegance.

Roger took a moment to guide her into the restaurant, leaving her at the entrance to the banquet room. He squeezed her arm, "You look beautiful, Ms. Plum. Go get 'em." She took a deep breath, gave him a finger wave, and entered the room.

* * *

He knew the moment she stepped in the room. The air crackled with electricity around him and his body hummed in anticipation. Being around her gave him the same sort of adrenaline rush that he got right before he jumped out of an airplane or kicked open the door to an FTA. She was the only woman ever to light him on fire like this and there had been lots of women who tried. He made his way across the room until he was but a breath behind her. She knew he was there. Her body knew his as well as his knew hers. "Butterfly," he whispered in her ear.

She turned around and cocked her head slightly, "Enigma." They stood mesmerized by each other, bodies close, fingertips touching. Ranger suddenly tensed and Loretta bumbled toward them gushing, "Oh, I see you've already met Mr. Pardo, Stephanie!" Ranger shot her a look that would make a SEAL piss his pants and Loretta paled.

"Yes, we've just met. Thank you Loretta."

"Okay, then. I'll let you two enjoy the evening." Loretta anxiously scrambled away.

She lightly smacked him on the arm, "Batman, that wasn't very nice."

In response, he gave her a soul-searing kiss. Cupping her face in his hands, he said, "**To be your friend was all I ever wanted; to be your lover was all I ever dreamed**. I love you Stephanie Plum." Wrapping an arm around her waist he pulled her onto the dance floor.

* * *

Shane watched Stephanie and Ranger on the dance floor, once again amazed by the chemistry between them. They were the type of couple that everyone's attention gravitated to, not only because they were each beautiful in their own right, but together they personified grace and love. His mother once said, "**W****e choose those we like; with those we love, we have no say in the matter**." He was jealous and he felt his heart fill with longing. This was the reason he joined Exclusive Services. To find someone like her, someone who saw beyond his good looks and robust bank account to the man inside. However irrational the thought, he wished he had another chance with Stephanie Plum.

* * *

Her head was resting against his shoulder, her arms wrapped around his back, hands on his shoulders as they swayed slowly to the music. She was at peace; she was home. Here, in his embrace was where she always wanted to be, needed to be. In a moment of clarity, she realized her independent nature, her desire to provide for herself, answer only to herself, belong only to herself, was reduced to nothing in his arms. She realized that they could be so much more together than she could ever be on her own. That with his love and support she could be an even stronger, better version of herself. The independence she always struggled for with Joe, the feeling of being crushed into submission didn't exist with Ranger. His love felt uplifting instead of stifling. She felt him smile against her forehead, "Deep thoughts, Babe?"

She sighed and snuggled deeper against him, "Just thinking, **no one is perfect until you fall in love with them**. You're perfect and I love being with you."

"Me, too. Don't lift your head, but Liberty's here." She fought her curious nature and stayed in his embrace. "Loretta is introducing her to Shane. Lets get something to eat and watch." They made their way to the buffet. After they loaded up their plates, ok, after _she_ loaded up her plate, they sat at a corner table where he, predictably, put his back to the wall. Shane and Liberty talked for some time while enjoying a glass of wine and then moved to the dance floor for a couple songs. They seemed to get along really well and she didn't know who she felt more sorry for, Shane or Liberty. When Liberty excused herself to the restroom, Stephanie followed.

* * *

They stood side by side at the sinks when their eyes met in the mirror. Liberty seemed very anxious and timid. Having been kidnapped several times, her heart went out to the young girl and the fear she must be feeling. She wanted to comfort her and felt confident with the direct approach.

"Hi. I'm Stephanie Plum. It's Anastasia, right?"

Terror flashed in the girls eyes, "Um, yes, er no. I'm Larisa."

"It's okay, Anastasia. I know who you really are. I'm here to help. Your father asked us to find you."

Something flashed in Anastasia's eyes but it was gone before she could identify it. "You do? Oh, thank you." She drew Stephanie into an embrace. "I've been so scared. How are you going to help me get home?"

"If you leave with your date, you won't arouse any suspicion and we'll make arrangements with him to meet you."

"Oh, no, that won't be good. They are here, watching me. They'll be suspicious if I go with him right after I've met him. I don't want anything to happen to him. We've grown close through our emails. You know, its been said that **love is like heaven, but it can hurt like hell.** I don't want him hurt. One of my kidnappers is pretending to be my roommate at college. There is a frat party later tonight at Psi Upsilon. She is expecting me to be there. If you meet me there, it'll be loud and crazy and I can sneak away without anyone knowing. Give me your cell number and I'll call you."

She gave it to her without hesitation, received another thankful hug and headed back out to Ranger with the news.

* * *

Back in New York, 11:42 PM Psi Upsilon House...

"Babe, be careful," she heard over her earpiece.

Binkie and Hal, the freshest Rangeman faces, were already inside mingling with the college crowd. Anastasia called and said she was at the party. She felt that if Steph came in for a little bit and blended it would be easier to sneak away from the people watching her. The house was wall to wall people. A DJ was setup in one room and couples were grinding on the dance floor. Steph made her way down a hall and found herself in the kitchen where drinks were being passed out. A beer was shoved in her hand and people around her started chanting, "Chug, chug, chug." Shrugging, she downed the drink to the amusement of those around her. Smiling, she handed the cup back as a small, blonde blur flung itself at her. "You came!!" squealed Anastasia.

"Of course I came, Larisa," she answered, maintaining Anastasia's cover. Anastasia grabbed her hand and drug her down a darkened hall. When they were mostly alone, she whispered, "A girl I knew from home came today. She's hiding. Her name is Jenna." Anastasia opened the door to reveal a set of stairs, "I'll take you to her; shhh, go quietly." Steph started slowly down the stairs as Anastasia slipped behind her and slowly closed the door.

Suddenly, she felt very uncomfortable; her skin felt like it was on fire. She was claustrophobic and couldn't get a breath. Her spidey sense started going off at high alert. She stopped on the stairs and turned towards, Anastasia, "Hey, maybe we should get help first?" Her voice sounded far away. Anastasia's head floated above her and gave an evil laugh, "Oh, I don't think that will be necessary. Welcome to hell, Ms. Plum."

Her last coherent thought was that **i****f she had to choose between loving Ranger, and breathing, she would use her last breath to say I LOVE YOU**. As the darkness descended, she whispered, "Carlos. . .love. . .you."

* * *

He heard Anastasia say, "Her name is Jenna." The earpiece was quiet for a couple beats before static filled the air.

His phone rang immediately. He barked, "Report," as he jumped out of the SUV and ran towards the house.

"Ranger, Bomber just went off grid."

"FUCK!"

Word count: 1,463 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.), 5 prompts.


	28. Chapter 28

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, fave'd and subscribed to this story. Your support is awesome!

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 28--**

Monday 12:07 AM, New York…

"Binkie, Hal, report," he barked into his mic as he rushed the frat house gun drawn. A few people shied away from him, but for the most part, they were all too preoccupied with drinking, smoking or making out to notice anyone. Not even someone as intimidating as Ranger.

Binkie and Hal met him in the foyer, "Binkie, sweep the upstairs, Hal, you come with me." They made their way through each room of the first floor looking for anything out of place to clue them in to where Steph was. A swinging door led them into a large kitchen where the beer kegs were set up. "I heard her get a drink, Boss. Right before that Anastasia girl talked to her."

Ranger gave a curt nod, and pulled a picture of Stephanie out of his wallet. "Has anyone seen this woman?" he asked. A scrawny nerd spoke up, "I saw her. Parker gave her a beer."

Giving the nerd his most menacing glare, Ranger asked, "Tell me exactly what happened."

Nerd, stammered, "Uh, she chugged the beer and gave the glass back to Parker. Parker put the glass over there by the sink," he gestured behind him, "then Larisa came down those stairs," he pointed in front of him, "gave her a huge hug and drug her off down that hallway," he gestured to his left. "Larisa is bi, so when they headed down the hallway giggling, I assumed they were going to one of the bedrooms. Parker followed them a few minutes later. I haven't seen any of them since."

"What is Parker's full name?"

"Uh, Ryan, Ryan Parker. He's a Junior. He lives here."

"Hal, get the glasses, we need to know if she was drugged." Hal nodded and Ranger headed down the dark hallway. There were two doors on his left and three on his right. The doors on the right were respectively, a bedroom, a shared bathroom and another bedroom. A quick sweep of all three revealed they were empty. The first door on his left was locked; the second was a linen closet. Returning to the locked door, he kicked it open. Wooden stairs dropped into darkness. He flicked on a light switch and quickly walked down. He stared at the room in front of him. It appeared to be an old root cellar. The walls were semi-wallpapered cinder block in places, concrete in others. There were shelves against two walls filled with dusty camping equipment, some jars of home canned food, and cardboard boxes. It looked like a catch all for lost stuff. There was however, no sign that either Stephanie or Anastasia had ever been in the small ten by ten room.

He headed back up the stairs. He was almost to the top when he heard "Boss? Boss, are you there?" in his earpiece. "Affirmative," he responded. "Boss, where are you? Your com staticed out just like Steph's did." Ranger froze, "I was in the basement. First door on the left in the hallway past the kitchen." He turned around and headed back down the stairs. He was joined a few moments later by Binkie and Hal. The three of them looked the room over inch by inch. They carefully checked each wall and the floor.

Finally, Binkie said, "Boss, I think I found something." He was kneeling in the corner of the room near one of the shelves of old camping equipment. "Feel this. Cool air is coming through here." They quickly moved the shelf and its contents out of the way. They scoured the newly revealed wall for anything that might explain the slight breeze. Hal was running his hands over the old cinder block when he felt something give. He found the soft spot again and pushed harder. There was a soft click and a section of the wall creaked forward. Drawing his gun, Ranger pushed the wall forward revealing a tunnel. "Good job, Hal. Stay here and cover the entrance." With Binkie covering his back, he made his way silently down the tunnel. They could hear a dull roar but weren't close enough to figure out what it was. The tunnel made a sharp left and Ranger figured they were under heading deeper into the campus. After they made the turn the roar got louder and the tunnel started to descend rapidly, suddenly the tunnel came to an end and opened into a huge space. Binkie drew in a sharp breath, "Holy Fuck!"

It seemed the tunnel under the frat house connected with the complex tunnels of New York's utility system. The beam of Ranger's Maglite barely made a dent in the darkness of the enormous cavern. They could make out tunnels spreading off in all directions. The roar of water was deafening. Ranger looked grim. "We need more people." He turned and headed back towards Hal.

* * *

Her first coherent thought was pain, lots of pain. That thought was quickly followed by the realization she couldn't move. Although her eyes were closed she could tell she was in a very bright room. A sharp, pins and needles feeling, like when you try to move your foot after it falls asleep, kept washing over her body. _Come on, Steph; open your eyes_, she demanded, but her body wouldn't cooperate. A familiar blackness came over her and she sunk into it.

* * *

He fumbled for his phone in the dark, "Mm, 'lo?"

"Shane, it's Ranger. Steph is missing. I need your help."

Waking up instantly at the distress in his voice he said, "Where? What?"

"The Psi Upsilon house at Columbia. We were here to rescue Liberty. Instead Stephanie and Liberty have gone missing. We think they are under the city in the utility tunnels. I don't have enough men here to search them properly. I can't get any cooperation out of NYPD. I'll have guys here in ninety minutes but I need help now."

"I can have a dozen guys meet you in twenty minutes."

He heard dial tone and despite the seriousness of the situation, chuckled to himself. He knew Manoso would have done a background check on him and found out what he was, just as he had done one on Manoso and on Steph. As a semi-retired SEAL, Shane had resources he could tap in the City. Five minutes later, a dozen men were headed towards Columbia U.

* * *

**I know, I know this was a very, very short chapter. Trying to get my muse to refocus! :D Thanks for reading. More soon.**


	29. Chapter 29

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money.

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 29--**

Early Monday morning, New York…

As promised, Shane and most of his team had arrived within twenty minutes. There was brief back slapping and hand shaking as some of the guys reunited but overall the tone was somber. There would be plenty of time for catching up after the mission was accomplished.

He watched Ranger as he barked orders into his cell phone, "Silvio, I don't care if you have to hack the Pentagon. I need those schematics yesterday." He didn't know Ranger well but he recognized the look. This was a man on the edge. Hoping to help keep Ranger in a military state of mind, he gave him a sharp salute, then stood at rest and asked, "Where do you need us?"

"Do you have anyone that knows urban tracking?"

"Yeah, Detroit and Monster are fresh from Iraq. Where do you want them?"

"Grab 'em and follow me."

Shane gave a sharp whistle followed by a warble sound and two men separated from the group. Then the four of them headed back into the frat house. Ranger took them down where the tunnel dropped off into the open cavern. Binkie and Hal had found several flood lights and they were now providing some illumination. Their tunnel ended three stories above the floor. Rebar embedded in the side of the wall served as a ladder from where they were down to the floor. The materials making the walls aged as they descended. Near where they were standing the walls were concrete, lower down they were cinder block and at the bottom small red bricks. Water gushed from a gated tunnel on the far side of the cavern through a series of narrowing conduits turning turbines as it went before disappearing through another gated tunnel. Six tunnels headed off in various directions from the main floor. Four more tunnels disappeared into the dark on what would be considered the second story. A narrow iron catwalk could be seen connecting the second story tunnels and a ladder, similar to a fire escape, was pulled up.

Following the rebar embedded in the wall down to the floor with his eyes he asked, "What makes you sure they came this way?"

"I don't know for sure, but her com went staticy and then she went off grid. We've been down here several times now and the same thing happens to our coms."

"We're going to need two-ways to communicate then. How do you want to do this?"

"Detroit, Monster, I want you guys to go down and see if you can find anything that gives us an idea of where they headed. There are ten tunnels down there all going in different directions. We don't have enough teams." Detroit and Monster each acknowledged the order with a brief nod and headed down the ladder.

When they were alone, Ranger ran his hand through his hair and said, "Thank you."

"I've heard a lot about the Mighty Manoso. It's an honor to help you," he said seriously. Then in an attempt to lighten the mood, "Besides, Dude, I've also heard a lot about the Bombshell Bounty Hunter. Who wouldn't _want_ to be part of her adventures? Not only that, but maybe if I rescue her I'll get a second date."

Ranger growled. Shane laughed. Monster interrupted calling up, "Found something."

* * *

When she came to again she was lying on her side on something hard. She no longer felt sick but struggled to open her eyes as it was very bright. She wiggled her hands and found she wasn't tied up. She arched her back and started to stretch her legs when her knees bumped into a wall in front of her and her feet hit something solid. Struggling once again to open her eyes, she blinked against the bright light. She was in a box, albeit a larger box than a coffin, but a box just the same. She felt panic curl through her chest and her breaths became pants. She had a terrible phobia of small, cramped spaces ever since Stivia locked her in the cabinet. Some nights she kicked her covers off in her sleep because they felt too constricting. Closing her eyes, she made a concerted effort to channel her inner Ranger. _Breathe Babe_, she heard in her head, _deep, slow breaths through your nose_. After several minutes she felt she could open her eyes again. Her box was square about four feet by four feet and maybe two feet tall. She couldn't sit up and she couldn't stretch out. The box was painted bright white and several glass windows in the top. Bright fluorescent white lights shone through the glass. She tried to kick against the glass but it was thick and her feet were bare. She glanced down at her clothes hoping to find her panic button, but was disappointed to find she wore white scrubs.

_Where the hell am I? How long have I been unconscious? Ranger must be panicked. Shit! He had no idea Liberty was part of this somehow_. Music flooded her little box and she tried to look around. There was no way to see past the lights. A sweet smell started to fill the box and she felt woozy again. Laying her head down, she heard a soothing voice, "Just relax Belle; enjoy the music and the sound of my voice."

* * *

His heart leapt when Shane's man, Monster called, "Found something." He was so pissed that a simple pick up had gone so wrong. A quick tox report had come back reporting that Xycolomizal was found in one of the empty beer cups. It was a known paralytic and would cause difficulty breathing within about five minutes of ingestion and full paralysis within twenty. The drug was short lived however and the recipient would slowly and painfully regain control about an hour after administration. It seemed it had become a popular date rape drug. Preliminary information had also come back on Ryan Parker. He was an amateur weightlifter, so assuming Steph was drugged he would have had no trouble carrying her down the ladder. He must have had a partner because he couldn't have carried Steph and Anastasia. Silvio was running an in-depth report on him and would call as soon as he had more information.

The floor of the cavern was covered in a layer of sand and dirt. Detroit and Monster had been careful not to disturb any potential clues. Monster pointed out where three sets of footprints appeared, two large man sized, one small woman sized. He couldn't tell if they were caused by someone setting a person down or the person standing under their own power. Then the footsteps headed toward the west to where the ladder was for the second story and two tunnels escaped into the darkness behind it. Detroit was up on the catwalk trying to determine if they had gone that direction or through the lower tunnels.

Detroit came back down and said that two of the upper tunnels seemed like possibilities based on discarded items in the tunnels. A fresh cigarette butt in one and a shoe in the other, he held out a pink low top converse to Ranger. Taking it in his hand, he quietly stated, "Steph was wearing pink converse."

Detroit drawled, "Treads different." He meant the tread on the converse was different than the small shoe print they had found. Ranger turned the shoe over. Sure enough Steph's converse had a smooth felt bottom. The tread they found was deep and grooved like a running shoe. Monster returned from his brief scout feeling like one of his two tunnels could also be a possibility. He had come back from his search with Stephanie's ID and debit card. Ranger knew she had a habit of sticking them in the back pocket of her pants if she was going somewhere she wouldn't be able to take a purse.

"Shit," he said out loud. "They must have been worried we might track them and thought they'd throw us off. For all we know, they could have put little mementos for us to find in every tunnel." Detroit and Monster frowned at him. Shane spoke up, "No, Detroit and Monster are two of the best urban trackers around. If they've narrowed it from ten to three, they went down one of these tunnels."

Ranger glanced at the men and offered a silent apology, which they accepted. It was obvious the man was under stress. "Okay, then, let's get three guys in each team and start searching. Shane, will you stay here and act as post since these are your guys?"

Shane accepted and they headed back to the surface to form the teams.

* * *

Yes, I know. Another shorty, but a quick turn around! More soon. Thanks for reading. Please review if you're enjoying!


	30. Chapter 30

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. Warning for a possible spew moment and angst.

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 30--**

Shortly after Midnight on Monday, Trenton…

He leaned his chair back, stretched and grunted at the large stack of papers still in front of him. He hated paperwork. It was the worst part of being Ranger's business partner. Tonight this job seemed particularly unfair as Ranger was spending the evening undercover with Stephanie. Somehow a date with a beautiful brunette didn't sound like work. He remembered when the movie True Lies came out that all the guys ribbed Ranger about being like Harry and Tank being Gib. Gib said, "Harry, why am I always in the truck? Next time you be in the truck." It was so true; Ranger took the risk and the reward. Tank, well, most the time Tank stayed in the truck. Tonight's rescue was straight forward: intercept Anastasia at the kegger, party with her a little bit so no one was suspicious, and then stumble off into the night like two drunk college girls into the waiting Rangeman truck.

Over time he and the guys had really come to love the little Bombshell Bounty Hunter. She snuck in under their radar and captured their hearts. So, he was not happy when Cal came into his office visibly upset, "Bomber's tracker just went offline."

* * *

He stared into the beautiful green eyes before him. They were a hypnotic, haunting pale green that changed with her mood. He found himself wondering how they would look in the throes of passion right before she came. They grew bright with excitement as he discovered why she was called Nitro. He shared a love of cars with her. She was a pro mod drag racer. Her vehicle of choice? A 1967 850HP Plymouth Barracuda. He drooled as she described it.

"I can't even begin to tell you how much it turns me on to hear you say cam shaft**," he teased. She blushed and laughed.

They were bonding over key lime pie when his phone chirped, "Santos." The blood drained from his face as he listened to the caller. "Shit. Okay. Yes, be there in ten."

"What's wrong, Justice?" She asked gently.

"My friend, Stephanie, is missing. I'm sorry, but I have to go."

She stood up and gave him a tight hug. "Yes, you must go help your friend. Please, call me; I'd like to see you again. Also, if there is anything I can do to help, let me know."

_Wow, how did he luck out finding such a special girl_? Assuring her he would, he rushed back to the office.

* * *

Pounding on his door jolted him awake. "Brown, wake up!" came a voice from the other side. Jumping out of bed he staggered to the door and found an anxious Tank on the other side. "Bomber's missing."

Those two words were all it took to bring him out of his sleep induced stupor. "Shit! What happened?" Tank followed him into the apartment and spoke while he dressed.

"Don't know. She went into the frat house to meet up with Liberty. She hadn't been in there for more than fifteen minutes when her com went staticy and her tracker went offline. Ranger and the guys searched the house and found a secret passage that led to the old utility tunnels. NYPD won't help. Those tunnels run for miles and they are all twisted and mostly undocumented. Rangeman's going to need pull in contract workers unless we get a lucky break."

"Fuck!" He cursed again. "Even if we left right this second we won't be there for an hour. We could totally lose her trail by the time we get there."

"Ranger called in reinforcements. Remember Jeremiah O'Toole? His cousin, Shane Doyle, met Stephanie through Exclusive Services. Lester ran a background check on him after that night at La Fiesta when Ranger & Steph tangoed. He's a SEAL, good guy. He lives in NY and is going to help. Ironically he is kind of tied to this because Exclusive Services set him up with Liberty."

Bobby nodded his head, finished strapping on his weapons and started mentally inventorying the items he'd need to bring in case she was hurt. He smiled a little. His medical bag had certainly gotten a workout since they'd started helping the little girl from the 'Burg. He had even started carrying pink band-aids with flowers because they made her smile. Zero, on the other hand, had not been amused when the guys in the locker room found one on his butt cheek after a routine immunization. _Eh, what could he say, it was all he had at the time_. Saying a little prayer that she was okay, he grabbed his gear and headed to the garage.

* * *

An hour later they were parking behind another Rangeman SUV at the Psi Upsilon house. The whole situation was about to turn into a cluster fuck of epic proportions. Some kid finally got sober enough to notice the dozen guys decked out in SWAT black and called campus security. Campus security in turn called NYPD. Hal was working with Shane to explain the situation and get everyone calmed down. Binkie had gone with Ranger and most of Shane's team into the tunnels shortly before the PD arrived.

Tank strode up to the group, "Doyle."

"Tank! Maybe you can give me a hand here. These boys in blue are being overly thick-headed here. Seem to think we all need to clear out."

"Who's in charge?" Shane pointed towards a younger man who appeared to share Stephanie's love of donuts but not her fast metabolism, "Officer Ronnie Jones."

Tank pulled out his cell and dialed a familiar number, "Sir, this is Tank. We have a situation." He stepped away from the crowd for some privacy. When he returned he had a smirk on his face. Moments later they watched as Officer Jones picked up his cell phone. His face turned red, then purple, with anger as he listened to the caller. Tank chuckled and muttered, "Looks like Morelli." Apparently Officer Jones didn't like other people in his sandbox, but one call to a Rangeman contact assured he no longer had a say in the matter. Ten minutes later only two squad cars were left for crowd control and Rangeman was back in control of the situation.

"Okay, fill me in." Shane proceeded to explain to Tank where they stood and what was going on below them. "Good. You stay on top of finding Bomber. I've got some calls to make."

Picking up his phone he dialed, "привет (privet*)."

"Ram, we have a situation here."

"Yeah, I know. People are scrambling over here too."

"Popov?"

"Popov's scared shitless. He's trying to do some major CYA. Someone else is calling the shots now. Someone in the states and that someone is PISSED."

"Any ideas?"

"No, but I'm _helping_ him cover his ass, so I'll know where all the evidence is buried." He paused, "Tank? Be cautious. Whoever this is, they are certifiable. Two executions have already been carried out here. You guys need to find Stephanie fast."

His next call was to Silvio. "Report," he barked when he picked up.

"Just found out that Ryan Parker is actually Ruslan Popov. He is here on a student visa from Russia. He is also Vladimir Popov's uncle."

"Uncle?"

"Yes uncle. Vladimir's grandparents had a surprise baby when he was nine."

"Interesting connection. What else do we know about what he is doing here? Who is he associating with?"

"His girlfriend is Amber Hughes, the Analysis Administrator at Exclusive Services. She lives at that building we were checking out, 130 W 183rd Street, apartment 310."

"Anything else?"

"No, not yet."

"Keep me posted." Tank hung up and gave orders. "Santos, head over to 130 W 183rd Street, Apartment 310. Your target is Amber Hughes. Contact Silvio for any information you need. For now, just observe."

"Bobby, I want you to head down to the tunnels so you're there when they find Stephanie. Hal, come with me. Let's go search Mr. Popov's room. Shane, keep me informed of what is going below."

Everyone accepted their assignments and took off.

* * *

A new voice drug her to consciousness as it shrieked, "STEPHANIE!" The voice was very angry and she struggled to make sense of what was going on. Opening her eyes, the bright lights once again made her head pound. "Stephanie Plum, you stupid bitch! You ruined everything. All my hard work. The perfect setup! Everything! And now you're going to die for it."

An evil cackle reverberated through the box as the lights went out and she was plunged into darkness. "No, no, no!" She cried out and pounded on the sides of the box. It was Stiva's all over again. Being stuck in a box was one thing; being stuck in a box in the dark was an entirely different matter. In a panic, she kicked out with her feet and hammered against the sides of the box with her fists until they were raw. Then she noticed the sweet smell was back. Curling into a tight ball, she sobbed.

* * *

Once the teams were assembled, Ranger and Detroit each took an upper tunnel and Monster with his team took the bottom one. The upper tunnels were dusty with dry, stale air. As the city grew, instead of tearing down old structures, people simply built on top of the old; paved right over the top. The poor continued to live on the lower levels while the upper echelon built their high rises and penthouse suites, driving the support columns into the lives of the lower class. Eventually the areas were deserted as the city sprawled and were taken over by rats, both human and not. Speakeasies were formed in the tunnels, secret societies met, bodies were hidden.

Over time, those establishments were forsaken as well and now the tunnels were mostly abandoned aside from a few brave beings that had lost their souls long ago. The homeless that lived here were lifers. Ranger knew of soldiers that existed that way. Men who were so haunted by the things they had seen, the things they had done that they couldn't or wouldn't return to civilian life. Men whose minds, and often their bodies as well, were broken.

A very real chance of becoming one of those broken souls was one reason he had formed Rangeman. It gave men like him a place where they were accepted; where they could function in society using the skills that had been drilled into their heads until they were as natural as breathing. Men like him who couldn't sit in a board room discussing the value of stocks, couldn't stand in a classroom teaching an edited history of the world, and could no longer find their American dream.

Methodically working their way through the tunnel, they looked for any sign. They took their time to search over a large room probably forty by sixty feet filled with discarded home items and cardboard boxes but found nothing but a sleeping couple covered in a tattered quilt. Moving on they came across two homeless guys running down the tunnel like the hounds of hell were after them. They skidded to a stop before Ranger and the team. Ranger didn't say anything, just gave them a look.

"Er, hi," the smaller man said. He was filthy and smelled like he had rolled in excrement.

"What are you guys running from?"

"His momma!" The larger man just grunted and slapped the smaller guy upside the head. Ranger dismissed them and continued down the passage. The two men started crawling up a ladder to reach the next tunnel up. Ranger glanced back as the larger man reached up for the next rung. A glint on the man's wrist caught his attention. Faster than he could say, "Shit", Ranger pulled him off the ladder and had him on the ground with a knee to his back. Slipping flexi-cuffs on his wrist he observed, "Nice Rolex for a homeless guy."

* * *

Monster moved his team cautiously through the damp, musty tunnel. They all worked together before and words were unnecessary. He noticed the section they were in had been flooded not long ago. Twenty minutes later the section of tunnel started to rise. They continued to come across people as they went. Quiet, sad, lonely people. Most just eyed them warily and then resumed their activities.

The lower tunnel's floor was all dirt and sand. Moving with stealth and precision Monster's team leap frogged ahead, one guy scoping out ahead and maintaining watch while the others scouted around and passed, then the next man, waited and watched. They passed through a darkened area filled with wooden packing crates made of plywood. The crates were dusty but looked new. It struck him as curious, but seeing no new tracks around the crates he dismissed them and moved on. Twenty feet down they came across another homeless encampment. This one filled with large cardboard boxes and makeshift tents.

He lead them forward but then hesitated; something wasn't right. Quickly backtracking he sidestepped a sleeping man and ripped back the makeshift tent that caught his attention. A small television flickered in the empty space. The team fanned out, loosely standing guard, armed and ready as he looked around. Grabbing the power cord, he traced it back to its source, a junction box on a heavy 10-gauge power cord buried in the sand and dirt. Carefully he unburied the extension cord. It was a new cord and hadn't been buried long.

He was getting a really bad feeling about this. He double-clicked his two-way and received a double-click back in response. "Detroit, we need a hand."

Forty minutes later all the homeless had been moved up the tunnel and the two men were back to unburying the cord. At the corner of the room there was another junction box and fresh drill marks on the wall. The cord ran under it in two different directions, one to the west and one to the north.

"We need to go back and check out those crates." Detroit nodded and gave a high pitched whistle. The two teams gathered up and they headed back down the tunnel. Reaching the crate room Detroit and Monster felt along the wall until they found the cord again. Pulling it up out of the dirt they followed it until it ran under the first crate.

They glanced at each other, silently communicating that this was bad. They needed a crowbar but since they didn't have one, they each wedged their K-bar on either side of the nail securing the lid. Efficiently they worked their way around the wooden lid, prying it open. Finally, when it was loose, they lifted it off, revealing another box inside. Florescent lights sat on top the smaller box. They moved them out of the way revealing the glass windows of the box. Monster flashed his Maglite into the box and sucked in a breath.

"Call Shane. Get Ranger. Now! And get these other crates open. Move it!" The guys scrambled to open the dozen other crates. He opened the lid of the box and pushed back the soft brown hair to see her face. Lifeless eyes stared back at him.

* * *

Word count: 2,537 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)

*привет (privet)= Hello in Russian.

** Yeah, pretty sure that as in Transformers II but I'm not certain. Seems like something Lester would say. :)

**Hey now! (Ducks and hides behind desk.) No throwing things at me!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. Huh, over thirty chapters…cool. Thanks for all your support! And now, because I know ya'll are dying to know what happened…on with the story:** ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 31--**

NYC Underground…

Monster looked sadly at the beautiful girl for a moment before pushing her eyelids down over her sightless eyes. _What a waste of life_, he thought. He'd seen a lot of death over his short thirty-four years, most of it in the line of duty, but this was not war, this was a young woman whose life was stolen from her, this was tragic. Around him the guys frantically worked the other crates open. CJ called out, "I got a live one here!" Scurrying over, he saw CJ quickly checking the vitals on a red haired woman. "Her breathing is shallow and she looks very dehydrated but I think she'll be okay."

Stu yelled, "We got another. She's got a pulse but isn't breathing. I'm starting rescue breathing." Ranger and the rest of the guys ran in as he announced this and Ranger rushed to Stu's side. Monster could read his lips, "Babe."

One of Ranger's guys, Brown, shoved him out of the way and moved to help Stu. He watched Brown give her an injection while Stu continued to breathe for her. They continued for five heart-wrenching minutes before she finally started to breathe on her own. Her pulse was thready though. Brown started barking orders for getting the girls out of this hellish place.

Using the tops of the inner boxes as makeshift backboards, the guys strapped the surviving girls down and carried them out of the tunnels. Once they reached the main cavern, ropes were rigged and one at a time the girls were lifted up to the tunnel leading back to Psi Upsilon's basement. They had radioed out to Shane and paramedics would be waiting for them as soon as they got upstairs. After the living were cared for the Crime Scene Investigators would begin their search for justice for the dead.

He shook his head sadly, they found eleven women but only five were still alive. He hoped they would all make it.

* * *

The street outside Psi Upsilon was awash in garish red and blue, the street lined with ambulances and police cars. When the call came up that the women had been found Rangeman secured the block keeping the reporters away from the scene. Lester had come back and personally escorted the two men Ranger apprehended back to Trenton where they would wait in a holding cell. Ranger didn't need the police mucking up _that_ interrogation. Six women were dead and his Babe had been kidnapped.

He watched the paramedics transfer Stephanie to a stretcher and into an ambulance with Bobby hovering nearby monitoring everything they did. Even after she started breathing on her own she hadn't regained consciousness. She was on oxygen and getting IV fluids now; her hands and feet had been carefully bandaged. Her box had been streaked with blood from where she had desperately tried to escape. His fists clenched at his sides; he really wanted to beat the shit out of someone, something; how had a simple rescue gotten so FUBAR?

He noticed an officer getting in Shane's face and moved closer to hear the conversation.

"Look, Officer Jones, if you had gotten your way we would have been forced to leave and _every single one_ of those girls would be dead now. So, you can take your jurisdiction crap and shove it!"

Office Jones' face turned a lovely shade of purple and he opened his mouth to speak. Ranger cut him off before he could utter a syllable. "Officer, this is a federal investigation. NYPD is here for back up and crowd control. My men will gather the evidence, control the scene and handle the witnesses. I know Chief Williams already told you this. So stand down or be put down." He was really jonesing (pun intended) for a fight and the last sentence was delivered with a promise.

Office Jones was not a very smart man. He sneered at Ranger, "Just because your girlfriend was hurt…" A fist came out of nowhere and Jones dropped like a rock. Ranger looked at Shane with a raised eyebrow.

He shrugged and said, "Dude." Then he pointed behind him, "Looks like your ride is getting ready to leave without you."

The corners of Ranger's mouth twitched, "It wouldn't dare." Then he jogged to the ambulance and jumped in, leaving Shane and Tank in charge.

* * *

Hector surveyed the scene with professional indifference, trying to keep his repulsion at bay. The person behind this was one sick bastard, or perhaps a sick bitch. Floodlights had been brought in and it was as bright as daylight in the tunnel affording them a good look at the scene. The containment cells or torture chambers, depending on how you looked at it, had been setup to look like several crates stacked on top of each other. Their outer appearance varied, some looked like large shipping crates while others looked like many small crates stacked together. Others had been deliberately aged. Only close inspection would reveal what they really were. Whoever set it up had taken careful steps to make it appear that the crates were part of the normal debris discarded in the tunnels. In reality each cell had been carefully wired for video and sound. Wires and tubes had been run under the dirt to the bottom "crate". A hidden room had been found behind the storage area filled with electronic equipment and monitors. A complex system for delivering gas to the cells had also been found. It had been left running wide open delivering 100% nitrous oxide.* It was an inexpensive, easily accessible, way of controlling the women. It could be purchased without anyone questioning its usage. A little gas and they would be relaxed and susceptible to manipulation. A lot of gas, however, and the results would be deadly. Anything that resulted in oxygen being replaced in the body would cause hypoxia and suffocation. He hoped none of the surviving girls had brain damage, especially not his _Estefanía_ _Dulce_.

The CSI's in the other room were, under Hal's supervision, carefully documenting every part of the scene, taking photos, samples and fingerprints. It was Hector's job to see what could be found in the monitor room. A red light was flashing above the door, an alarm of some kind it seemed. Monster's team must have tripped it somewhere signaling the guys Ranger found to run. The equipment in the room was very expensive. The monitors were split so that each displayed the feed from inside four cells. Since there were only thirteen crates they either removed some or were planning on bringing more. A large monitor sat in between the other monitors. A single tap on any of the other monitors would switch the designated broadcast to the large monitor. The audio was still turned on it one of the crates and it was broadcasting the CSI techs' chatter into the control room. He looked around and found the source. It was the cell Stephanie had been in.

A green light flashed beneath the audio switch. The conversation was being recorded. He poked around on the computer until he found the audio program. Stopping the recording he rewound it three hours, approximately an hour before Monster found the crates. The video and the audio were linked and when the audio played the corresponding video played on the screen. He was watching Stephanie sleep, the sound of her soft breathing filling the room.

Suddenly a woman's voice screamed out of the speakers, "Stephanie! Stephanie Plum, you stupid bitch! You ruined everything. All my hard work. The perfect setup! Everything! And now you're going to die for it." The lights went out in the cell but the video feed had night mode and he could still see her. He watched the look on her face change to pure panic and she yelled, "No, no, no!" and started to hit the walls of the crate. She kicked at the glass windows but couldn't get good leverage in the small area. She fought against the unyielding wood for about twenty minutes before she curled into a ball and started sobbing. Her breathing was becoming labored and he could hear the slight hiss from the gas being pumped into the small space. Tears streamed down her face and she quietly cried, "Help me. Please, help me. Carlos. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I tried. I…I love you. I love you." Her words trailed off as the gas took over. He watched as her body fought the lack of oxygen, saw the moment she stopped breathing. Less than five minutes after she stopped breathing the lid to her box was ripped off. If Ranger saw this video and how close they had come to losing her entirely, he would lose it. As it was, now that he saw the video he was very worried about brain damage, not only for her but for the other girls too. The body can only survive without oxygen for about six minutes before permanent brain damage occurs and that is when you've been breathing regular air, not when your air supply had been compromised.

He needed to call Ranger. He recognized the voice of the woman. He had heard it in his earpiece moments before Stephanie went offline.

* * *

He listened to the steady beep of the monitor reassuring him that she was still alive. He should be out there working with the guys looking for Liberty but he couldn't find it in himself to leave her side. He wanted, no, needed, to be here when she woke. Despite the video evidence Hector found that she hadn't been completely without oxygen for long, the doctors were being guarded in their prognosis. She had been unconscious for almost four hours now. They diagnosed her with an anoxic brain injury. He was told it was common with this type of injury for the patient to slip into a persistent vegetative state after the initial period of unconsciousness. He couldn't bear the thought.

If she did awaken she could have symptoms of memory loss, inability to reason and process information, difficulty using words or processing what was said, problems with visual perception, a lack of coordination, inability to do common tasks like brushing her hair or even suffer quadriparesis, weakness in her arms and legs. None of those things were acceptable outcomes. She had to regain consciousness and come back to him.

He held her hand and gently stroked her hair and face. "Por favor, mi amor, despertar. Te necesito. Usted es el latido de mi corazón. Lo siento. Lo siento por lo que te no encuentro temprano. Por favor, a amor. Babe. Yo no ocultar yo de usted ya. Mi mariposa valiente, hermoso. Lamento que estabas tan asustado. Volver a mí. Voy a hacerlo de usted incluso si tarda para siempre. Mi vida es nada sin en ella.**"

* * *

Her head ached and she couldn't move or open her eyes. _Damn, she was still in the box. At least she was alive. _Liberty's words were echoing in her head_. Wait, no, those weren't Liberty's words._ She strained to try to understand what she was hearing. It sounded all garbled like it was in a foreign language. She tried to focus on the voice. She realized it was deep and masculine. Recognition dawned, it _was_ a foreign language. Ranger was murmuring to her in Spanish. Slowly she recognized the beep of a heart monitor and other sounds associated with hospitals. She rejoiced. _She was out of the box and she was alive_! She needed to see Ranger, to reassure herself that he was there and she was okay.

She tried to open her eyes, but it was so hard. _Come on Plum! You can do this_, she ordered. She tried again and again, finally Ranger swam into view. He smiled and squeezed her hand, "Babe."

* * *

Word count: 1,982 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)

*Ok, so I'm may be taking a little bit of artistic license with the nitrous. But really, if you breathe 100% of anything that isn't oxygen you're going to pass out and potentially die, right?

** Please my love, wake up. I need you. You are the beat of my heart. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I didn't find you sooner. Please sweetheart. Babe. I won't hide myself from you anymore. My brave, beautiful Butterfly. I'm sorry you were so scared. Come back to me. I'll make it up to you even if it takes forever. My life is nothing without you in it.

**Yeah! She got rescued. I forgive you for throwing things at me. LOL Now to find that sneaky bitch, Liberty, and give her what she has coming! Please review and let me know what you think.**


	32. Chapter 32

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. Prompts from Babe Squad's May Mothers, Memorials & Sex Challenge and PerfectlyPlum's May is a Busy Month challenge.

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 32--**

Monday morning, Our Lady of Health Hospital…

The heart monitor sped up and he watched her struggle with herself to wake up. Her eyelids fluttered and finally her beautiful cerulean eyes focused on him, "Babe." It came out on a breath, more a sigh than a word. **_The risk of love is loss, and the price of loss is grief – But the pain of grief is only a shadow when compared with the pain of never risking love._** As he stared into her eyes, he was thankful he'd finally taken the risk as he realized if he lost her, he would feel the pain even if he'd never taken the risk. She tried to smile from behind the mask that covered her face. It was pumping concentrated oxygen for her. She awkwardly moved her hand towards it, "No Babe, leave it. You need the oxygen."

He pressed the call button to alert the nurse and moments later she bustled in, "Oh! I see our patient is awake. Wonderful. Let me get the doctor." She did a quick check of Steph's vitals and checked the readouts on the monitors before leaving.

He could read the questions in her eyes. "Wait for the doctor, Babe." As if Ranger's words summoned him, the doctor walked in.

"Ms. Plum, so nice to see you awake. How are you feeling?" She shrugged. "That good, huh?" The doctor looked over her chart, made some thoughtful noises, and wrote some notes. "Ms. Plum you've been unconscious for over four hours. When you were found you weren't breathing. I believe it has been determined that you were without oxygen for between four to five minutes. We need to do some tests to see how you're functioning. The first thing we're going to do is take you down for an MRI. Depending on what we find there, we will take you to our PT room where we'll assess your mobility. Okay?"

She nodded that she understood and gave Ranger's hand a squeeze. "Thirsty," she croaked. He gently removed the O2 mask and helped her sip some water. He started to put the mask back on when she said, "Liberty." He paused and she continued, "It was Liberty. She, she tricked us. I think. I'm confused. She said there was another girl." He leaned down and brushed a kiss across her lips before replacing the mask. "I know Babe."

Two orderlies entered and started to disconnect her monitors, preparing her for transport. "Time for your MRI, ma'am." Ranger moved to get out of the way, but she kept a death grip on his hand, "Stay."

* * *

The orderlies went to move her away from Ranger and she felt panicked. Gripping his hand, she said, "Stay." The last thing she wanted was to be away from him again. She was starting to recall everything about being in the box and how it felt when the gas started to drag her under. She noticed that her hands were bandaged and vaguely remembered trying to get out of the box. Tears ran down her face as she remembered thinking she'd never see Carlos again. They were stopped in the elevator and she felt him reach down and whisk her tears away. She glanced up at him and noticed Bobby was with them. She tried to give him a smile, but settled for a finger wave. Concern filled his brown eyes and handsome face and she wondered why.

When they reached Radiology they moved her onto the narrow MRI table. Once she was settled it started to slide into the machine. As her head passed through the bright white, narrow opening she realized what they were doing and she couldn't breathe. Her chest felt tight and she screamed, "Fuck! No! No! Let me out!" The white walls of the narrow machine were closing around her and she thrashed around trying to get away before once again welcoming the darkness.

* * *

Ranger was in the MRI room seconds after the terrified scream left her lips. Bobby mentally slapped himself for being so stupid as to let her be put in the MRI machine. Patients often felt claustrophobic in the narrow machine and none of them had experienced the trauma Stephanie had. The tech was reversing the table and it slowly slid back out of the machine. Too slowly for Ranger's liking and he simply reached in and pulled her into his embrace. The fear and panic had caused her to pass out. He watched as Ranger gently stroked her face and murmured words of love to her until she opened her eyes. "I'm sorry Babe."

Bobby turned to the doctor, anger evident on his face, "Can you give her something to help her relax? She's been through enough trauma already!"

The doctor shook his head, "No, we need to monitor her brain activity. She needs to be awake and responsive."

"Can he stay in there with her?" He asked, nodding towards the couple in the MRI room.

The doctor hesitated and watched as Ranger calmed her down. Making a decision he said, "Nothing metal can be in that room during the test. He'll need to strip everything off and wear some scrubs, but yeah I guess that would be fine." They told Ranger and he moved to set her down, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and wouldn't let go. The doctor smiled, "I'll be right back." He returned with a set of scrubs.

"Babe, I'm going to set you down now. I'll stay right here with you, but you have to let go of me." She nodded against his neck and slowly loosened her grip. He removed his watch, guns and knives and put them in the plastic washbasin the nurse provided. As Ranger stripped off his shirt, a loud thump was heard on the other side of the glass.

Bobby glanced up to see a nurse, flushed red, rubbing her forehead. He chanced a peek at Stephanie. Normally that kind of behavior would make her laugh, but he noted sadly, she was just sitting in a haze with her O2 mask back in place. He watched as Ranger turned his back to the glass and stripped out of his pants, giving the nurses a heart stopping view of his ass but hiding his other assets. He was pleased to see Steph reacted this time with an eye roll. Ranger smiled at her as he tied the pants on, "I always wanted to play Doctor." Handing Bobby his stuff, he once again cradled Stephanie.

Although the situation was serious, he couldn't help but sneak a couple of pictures on his iPhone of his badass friend in green surgeon scrubs. The radiology techs and nurses were busy drooling about, "Dr. McDreamy being put to shame." The doctor, however, quickly regained control of the situation by settling Stephanie in position. Ranger was at the head of the MRI tube talking to her as they slid her back into the machine. Bobby could see her heart rate spiking on the monitor but as Ranger talked it slowed and returned to normal. He breathed a sigh of relief. The doctor came back out and the test was started. His heart grew lighter and lighter as scan after scan revealed Stephanie's perfect brain. No dead tissue was visible anywhere. No evidence of trauma. The doctor asked her questions about the evening, things that happened a week before, things that happened five years before, ten years before and in her childhood. He seemed pleased with the charting as it revealed the brain synapses.

The doctor looked up at him, "Well, son, we still need to do some physical testing, but it seems your friend is going to be okay. That was a stroke of genius giving her that shot of Epinephrine before you started the rescue breathing. It made her body more receptive to the oxygen you were pushing in and helped to quickly replace the nitrous in her tissues."

It was all he could do to nod in relief. **_There are one hundred and ninety nine ways to beat, but only one way to win; get there first._** He was thankful to Shane and his men for being there first.

Word count: 1,373 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	33. Chapter 33

**Rated: M for language, violence, sex, and cruelty to animals. Skip to the first line break (first 4 paragraphs) if you don't want to read it. **Not mine, not making any money. Contains 5 prompts for the May Babe Squad challenge and 1 prompt for the May Perfectly Plum challenge.

**Operation Thaw**

**--Chapter 33--**

Somewhere in New York, about the same time Steph was being rescued…

Even knowing the Plum bitch was dead, cold fury coursed through her. She was hiding behind a dumpster in the darkest part of the alley, cautiously making her way back to Amber Hughes apartment. That bitch was going to die, too. She'd had her hands on Ruslan and that was unacceptable. She would forgive Ruslan. She knew he was just using the пума (puma1) to get what they needed. Unbidden the image of Amber astride Ruslan popped into her head. Ecstasy was written all over the woman's face as she cried out for more. Ruslan complied and gripped her hips, meeting her thrusts.

She shook her head to eliminate the image but it wouldn't go away. When her imaginary Ruslan started moaning Amber's name she forcibly imagined herself in the room with them; her breath growing ragged. Her nipples hardened as she pictured a shiny 10-inch knife in her hand; violence aroused her. Just as imaginary Amber reached her climax, she swung her arm over her head and plunged the knife into Amber over and over again. Blood sprayed over the white sheets and Ruslan's muscular body. She pushed the body off her man and rubbed her hands in the blood. He grasped her hand in his and together they stroked him to completion.

The fantasy fueled her need to quell her anger. It throbbed in her veins making her immune to the cold, dark night. Nothing was going to distract her from satisfying her need. She started as a cat jumped onto the dumpster. _Perfect_, she thought. "Here kitty, kitty," she purred. The cat came closer and rubbed its head against her open palm.

She picked it up and cuddled it in her arms, gently stroking its soft underbelly. The cat's pleasure was evident as its purrs became louder, vibrating through its whole body. Then, with a quick flick of her wrist, she slit its throat. Hot blood pulsed out of the fatal wound all over her hands. She took delight in its slickness and the life it represented, sighing with contentment as her anger abated.

* * *

Something wasn't right. Ryan hadn't called her after they secured the Plum woman. She was worried it had something to do with Anastasia. That girl had been a thorn in her side since she arrived. Everything about her was off. She still hadn't figured out why Vladimir had used the service to send her to the States. She was also suspicious of the amount of time she seemed to be spending with Ryan. They knew each other from Russia. It was time she got the truth.

Picking up her secure phone, she dialed.

"привет (privet2)"

"Дорогая, у нас есть проблемы. (Dorogaya, u nas yestʹ problemy.3)"

"What kind of a problem?"

"Ruslan is missing. Anastasia is missing. I have a bad feeling. I know Ruslan and Anastasia know each other somehow. Tell me what is going on."

"Amber, you need to get out of there. Anastasia is dangerous. She and Ruslan have a complex history. You should go to the safe house in Newark. Someone is trying to take over the organization. Please, dear, go. Let me know when you're safe."

"Okay, darling, I will." She hung up the phone and contemplated what Vladimir said. She chuckled to herself; she had done a good job fooling the man. She had worked for him for over a decade; starting in his bed and moving her way up. She knew the ins and outs of the business better than he did. The buyers were her contacts, not his. Without her he would be nothing because he'd be a merchant with product but no buyers. She and Ryan were the ones organizing the takeover. There was so much more money to be made. Popov really had a narrow vision.

The information on Anastasia angered her. What exactly was the younger woman trying to pull? How to Ryan fit into the picture? Yes, she was ten years his senior but she had the body of a twenty-five year old and they were magnificent together. She made a decision, she would go to a safe house, but it would be hers not Popov's. She locked up the apartment and pushed the button for the elevator. When it opened a large man dressed in black was standing to the side. He scared her and she started to back away, "Oh, I'll catch the next one, I forgot my cell…" She trailed off as she turned around and ran into a solid body. "No, Ms. Hughes, I think you'll come with us now."

* * *

The physical tests they ran her through were difficult because she was exhausted, physically and emotionally. The MRI tube had been horrific. Only Ranger's presence had kept her in it. Now, as she lay in her hospital bed, she wondered what time it was and how long she'd been asleep. Ranger was asleep in a hospital chair next to her bed. If she reached out she could caress his face. He looked exhausted; large black circles under his eyes, day old beard gracing his face, disheveled hair, sticking up in a couple spots. She noticed a couple flecks of silver in his beard and wondered if she was the cause. His voice startled her, "I'm awake, Babe."

"Oh." He opened his eyes and she found herself getting lost in the deep pools of chocolate. She reached out and ran her fingers along his jaw, enjoying the feel of the stubble under her fingertips. "It is unfair for a man to have lashes as long and thick as yours."

He roared with laughter, "Sorry Babe. You'll have to take it up with my mother. I didn't have anything to do with it."

"Will you tell me what happened please?" she asked softly. "How long have I been here?"

He instantly sobered. "Well, you've been back from the tests for about four hours. You've been here at the hospital for about eleven hours. You were missing for about four hours before we found you. It's a little after three now."

"Four hours? That's all? Huh, felt like way more than that."

"Yeah, it was the drugs they gave you. When you had that beer there was a date rape drug in it that temporarily paralyzed you. Eventually it works through your system but it is incredibly painful when it does. It's like the worst pins and needles feeling ever."

"I know. I remember that part." She looked at him questioningly, "What else? There is something you're not telling me."

He ran his hand through his hair and she giggled when a section of it stayed stuck up like a rooster tail. He stood up, cupped her face in his hands, and gave her a long, soft kiss. "I almost lost you, carina. I mean, you've had lots of near misses, but this, this was even closer than all those." He stroked his thumb on her cheek and across her lips. "The place we found you was a torture chamber of sorts. The box was wired for sound, video and the gas. Babe, there were twelve other cells just like yours setup alongside the box you were in." She gasped when he said this. He gave her a quick, reassuring kiss and continued, "Two of the boxes were empty, but there were ten other women there. Do you remember Liberty yelling at you?"

She shivered at the memory of the words and nodded. "Well, when she turned the gas on in your unit she opened it wide in the others as well. When we found you," he paused, struggling with his emotions, "when we found you, you weren't breathing and you barely had a pulse. Stu and Bobby did rescue breathing for you until you started to breathe on your own again. Only four other women were still alive. One of them died a couple hours ago. Two haven't woken up yet. Only you and one other seem to be okay. If Monster hadn't turned back." His voice trailed off.

"Turned back? Where were we?"

"Have you ever heard of the NY Underground?"

"Well sure, but I thought most of that was made up. An urban legend."

"No, it is real. There was a secret passage from the basement of Psi Upsilon to the tunnels. I couldn't get enough Rangemen here fast enough so I called Shane. He brought some of his crew and helped us search for you. His man, Monster, was searching the tunnel you were found in. If he had been two minutes later you would have been dead or had permanent brain damage from lack of oxygen."

She contemplated his words, trying to digest everything. Finally she said, "I want to meet them. Can you arrange it?"

He nodded, "Sure." He stepped out in the hall to make a call and she slipped back off to sleep.

* * *

She awoke to low rumbling voices. "Hi," she said softly to the men around her. Ranger, Tank and Bobby were there, along with Shane Doyle and two men she didn't recognize. Shane came over and kissed her on the cheek, "A cuishle, always an adventure when you're involved, I see. I'm glad you're okay." He stood up and gestured to the men behind him, "This is Stu Phillips and Dane Andrews, aka Monster. Monster was responsible for leading the team that found you. Stu is the guy that actually opened your crate and gave you mouth to mouth."

The guys looked embarrassed at all the attention. Stephanie looked at them her eyes full of love and appreciation, "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"Twas nothing ma'am," Stu said. "**_Each man stands with his face in the light of his own drawn sword. Ready to do what a hero can_**."

Monster busted out laughing, "Quoting poetry again, Stu? **_A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself_**. While you've certainly dedicated your life to several noble causes, you're still among the living therefore you can't claim hero status yet."

Stephanie was giggling at her heroes' playful banter. "It's okay. **_The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example._** You're building your legacy. Can you guys stay for a little bit?"

Stu and Monster nodded and sat down on the chairs next to her bed. Ranger and Shane did the ESP thing and Ranger said, "Babe, we're going to step out in the hall and go over a few things."

She nodded and turned her attention back to Stu and Monster. They talked about who they were and how they knew Shane. In turn, they asked her about how she knew Shane and how she ended up in the box. She told them about her life as a BEA, how she landed the job and a few of her adventures. Stu was a small Chinese man, adopted when he was six months old and raised by naval parents. He became part of Shane's crew because of his stature. When placing under water explosives they often found themselves in need of a small guy to get in tight spaces. Monster was from the Pacific Northwest. He had dark blue eyes and light, almost white, blond hair. "How'd you get the nickname Monster?" She asked.

He turned a slight shade of red and then told the story. "I grew up in Buckley, Washington hearing stories about Sasquatch. I was terrified. So my mom said that Sasquatch was really just a misunderstood cookie monster. I was five and I believed her. Anyway, so whenever I was scared or nervous she'd send me Sasquatch cookies. They were really just her amazing oatmeal butterscotch cookies but she called them Sasquatch cookies. Anyway, when I joined the Navy she'd send me cookies whenever I found myself in a situation where I was scared. After one particularly bad mission we were all decompressing afterward and had gotten drunk. The story about cookie monster and the Sasquatch cookies came out. The guys decided we needed to go get tattoos to remind ourselves of successfully completing the mission. One of the guys did the classic "Mom" in a heart. I got something a little different and I've never lived it down."

"Aren't you going to show her?" Stu teased.

Sighing Monster stood up and unbuckled his pants. On his upper right butt cheek was a blue cookie monster proudly proclaiming, "Mom." Steph grinned, "Does your mom know about it?"

Pulling his pants back up, Monster said, "Yeah. She says, "**_A mother is not a person to lean on but a person to make leaning unnecessary_**." She's really proud of me and thinks my cookie monster tribute is cute. I'm proud of her. She raised me and my sisters by herself after she kicked my dad out for being a drug addict."

"That's really nice Monster. **_Whenever I'm with my mother, I feel as though I have to spend the whole time avoiding land mines_**. She doesn't understand me, my life or why I don't want the lifestyle that has made her happy. She doesn't understand that **_people take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they are not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost_**. Thank you, again, for finding me. If I can ever do anything for either of you, please let me know."

They shook Stephanie's hand but she pulled them both into hugs and made them put their phone numbers into her cell phone.

* * *

They stepped into the hall where Ranger, Tank, Shane and Bobby were discussing the search for Liberty. "That's an amazing girl you have in there, Manoso."

Ranger nodded agreement, "Yes she is. Now let's figure out how to get those bastards that hurt her and those other women."

* * *

1 Cougar (Russian)  
2 Hello (Russian)  
3 Darling, we have a problem. (Russian)

Word count: 2,318 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	34. Chapter 34

**Rated: M for language, violence. Not mine, not making any money. Thanks to S & M for their input on this chapter.  
**

**Operation Thaw**

**-Chapter 34-**

Outside Stephanie's room at Our Lady of Health Hospital…

Just as Ranger finished speaking his phone rang. His eyes darkened in anticipation as he recognized the number.

"доклад (doklad1)," he commanded.

Ram responded, "I've got all the evidence we need. Every girl, where she went, who wanted her gone, everything."

Ranger responded, "Affirmative. Get the rest; then take him out."

Ram's response was a soft, "OoRah," before he disconnected.

* * *

After hanging up with Ranger, he finished sending the last of the files to RangeMan's secure server. Popov came in just as he was finishing, "Did you get rid over everything?"

Ram nodded, "Yes sir."

"Excellent. Get all the guys to base; we'll have a meeting in thirty minutes." Popov left and Ram grabbed his Sat phone and made some calls. First to the extra guys RangeMan contracted so they could get to the base for the take down, and a second call to Popov's henchmen to get them there for the meeting.

Twenty minutes later he headed to the main compound for the meeting, all fifteen of Popov's men would be inside, leaving just two outside to patrol. Popov's meeting was to inform them that they were closing the operation and to thank them all for their service. In reality, the operation was only moving. Five core men were being retained and transferred to the new base of operations in Mexico. Of course, since he was the one responsible for setting it up, only he knew that there was nothing in Mexico but a large expanse of desert.

When he walked in the building, the men were sprawled around, relaxed in the building they thought was secure. Popov was at the front of the room near the large stone fireplace. A scantily clad woman passed out shots of vodka to the men. Ram took one as Popov began to speak, "Men! Brothers. First, let us drink to our success." The men downed the alcohol like water and cheered themselves. Only Ram and the other five knew not to drink. Popov continued, "Sadly, it is with a heavy heart that we must close this operation as most of you are traitors." In reality, most of them were not traitors, Ram had set things up so that it appeared they were. Only the five were not susceptible to his subtle trickery. The drug laced vodka was starting to work as the men began to gasp for air.

Lester had filled him in on the situation with Stephanie and while these men weren't directly involved with what happened to her, he found it was fitting they were dying by the same drug. Xycolomizal, when administered in small doses made your skin feel like it was on fire and the temporary paralysis made it difficult to breathe, but when given in a large dose, it completely paralyzed the lungs. These men were feeling that effect. Within minutes their bodies gave in to the lack of oxygen and they quit twitching.

Popov, clapped his hands together to get attention refocused on him, "Alright, let's get the jeeps and get out of here." Ram knew his guys were in position and moved towards Popov. He turned his back to the door and tugged his gloves on while standing in front of the window. It was the signal and moments later the door crashed open and a flash grenade was thrown in and the words, "RM ALERT" were shouted. Ram ducked and covered his face and ears to protect himself from the blast. While the six men were incapacitated Ram quickly made his way over to Popov, "Come on, Sir; this way." He helped Popov out the side entrance and into the waiting jeep.

* * *

Easing the jeep into the safe house Ram and Popov heaved a sigh of relief. "Well, shit," Popov exclaimed, "that was close. All the supplies we need are here, however, and we'll be in Mexico just a day later than expected." Popov jumped out of the jeep and headed into the house. Ram followed closely behind. When they reached the door Ram spoke, "Yeah, there is just one problem with your plan, Sir." He put his gun into the small of Popov's back, "I'm not the guy you thought I was."

"Who are you?" Popov asked tersely.

Ram smirked in the dark, "That really doesn't matter, does it?" He then smashed the butt of his gun against Popov's head rendering him unconscious.

* * *

When Popov came to Ram had him shackled, the chain between his wrists hooked high above his head, his feet barely touching the floor. "Andrei," he called Ram's alias, "Andrei! What the fuck are you doing? Get me down from here."

He came into the room, flipped a chair around and sat on it backwards. He didn't answer Popov, just watched him. Realization dawned in Popov's eyes, "The men at the compound; they were yours." It was an accusation, not a question. "I trusted you, you little piss ant! I am going to kill you!"

Ram remained still and quiet while Popov ranted, allowing him to wear himself down further; as he became more exhausted it would be harder to lift himself up, harder to catch his breath.

Finally he grew quiet and Ram said, "Tell me about Amber Hughes."

Popov remained silent. Ram got up and grabbed a small black vial from the table. Without any trace of emotion he asked, "Remember Viktor? He was dead when we poured the acid on his face. You will not be." He then dripped the liquid from the vial on the exposed skin of Popov's forearm, directly on the artful tattoo of his family crest with his daughter's name scripted below. "Tell me about Amber."

Thru gritted teeth, Popov said, "She's a nice snatch. You want a piece? I could set you up with her."

Ram sat back down and reached around behind him to pull out a long leather whip from a clasp on his belt. With precision he flicked it at Popov. It whizzed past his face snapping next to his ear. "Don't fuck with me, Popov." Popov just laughed, so he flicked the whip again, this time slashing it across his cheek. Popov was a cruel man, but not a strong willed one, Ram knew he would break soon. He repeatedly swiped the whip across Popov's chest cutting his shirt into ribbons. It hung in pieces from his chest revealing red welts beneath.

"Make no mistake, you will die tonight." He paused, "but you will choose if you die quickly or painfully. You will choose if you die alone or if _others_ join you." Popov's eyes flicked to where his tattoo used to be, now a mess of mangled, burned flesh, and knew Andrei was not a man to make idle threats.

"Amber coordinates all the buyers in the States." He then outlined exactly how Amber helped to bring the girls to the US and her role in contacting the buyers.

"Now, tell me about Ruslan."

"Ruslan," Popov spat the name like he had something foul in his mouth. "I hate that little piece of shit. He has done nothing but make my life miserable since he was born. About six years ago he blackmailed me into letting him work in my organization. He learned quickly and then started making demands. He wanted to go to the United States so when he graduated I helped him get a student visa and hooked him up with Amber as a cover. They've been working the organization over there." Popov took a ragged breath, gravity working against him as he hung from the ceiling. "The bastard is trying to take over the organization. He has been threatening several of my buyers to switch to them. Promised them better merchandise but said if they didn't switch he had evidence to bring them to justice."

"Is he working with someone?"

"Anastasia Samodurov; she's an evil bitch." Popov's breathing was getting worse. Ram knew he wouldn't last much longer. "She met Ruslan in high school. He was dating a girl at the time, Valentina Titov, Anastasia was jealous. She was used to getting anything she wanted; her nanny came to me and asked me to make Valentina disappear. Anastasia's nanny has been cleaning up her messes since she was a small child. She and Ruslan are perfect for each other. There was another girl, six months before Ruslan went to America. She had the audacity to have a crush on him. They only found pieces of her body; I've never seen anything as horrific as what was left of the body."

"Give me the nanny's name."

"Ivanna Eltsina."

Ram got up, "Since you've been so cooperative, I'll make your death quick. But know this, only hell awaits you." Placing his gun against Popov's chest, he pulled the trigger.

* * *

1 Report! (Russian)  
Word count: 1,475 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	35. Chapter 35

Hello dear readers! I'm so sorry for the long delay with Operation Thaw. I'm co-hosting a challenge this month on Babe_Squad and was busy writing a story for it. It is complete and I'll be sure to post it over here for all the fanfiction readers. Writing for the challenges is a ton of fun. Operation Thaw actually originated from a challenge. If you're interesting in expanding your writing consider joining a group! There is a link to the Burg Grapevine in my profile. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thank you so much for reading! I look forward to hearing what you think of this chapter.

**

* * *

Rated: M for language, violence. Not mine, not making any money. **

**Operation Thaw**

**-Chapter 35-**

**RangeMan Trenton, Interrogation Room A…**

She felt like she was suffocating as she floated on the edge of consciousness and gradually recognized that something covered her face. It was rough and itchy. Coming fully alert she realized her hands were cuffed behind her back and it felt like she was sitting on a metal bench. There was nothing to lean her back against and it was incredibly uncomfortable. Opening her eyes she saw nothing. She struggled to breathe lightly through her nose as the heat and tightness of the head covering was making her claustrophobic.

She remembered the two men in the elevator and started to yell for help. Her muffled cries echoed off the concrete walls and she realized she was all alone.

* * *

**RangeMan Trenton, Interrogation Room B…**

After being tackled in the tunnel he had been blindfolded and transported somewhere. The drive had been lengthy so he figured he was no longer in New York. Once the vehicle stopped he had been stripped of his clothes and shoved in this cell, his hands cuffed above his head. It was okay. He would wait them out. He was Russian. No American could break him. He just prayed that Anastasia had avoided capture. She was resourceful and loved him. It was too bad they had to kill the girls. They were worth a lot of money. Now they were going to have to start over. He sighed. He was going to have to work hard to get Amber to continue to cooperate. The woman was an excellent fuck but juggling her and Anastasia was becoming exhausting.

* * *

**RangeMan Trenton, Wash Bay 2…**

Anton shivered as the frigid water knifed across his body. He was going to beat the living shit out of Ruslan next time he had the chance for getting him involved in this. The only reason he was standing naked in a wash bay was Ruslan pushed over the homeless camp's latrine in the rush to exit the tunnels. Stupid fucker.

He eyed the man in black with the gun trained on him warily. The smaller Hispanic man just chuckled, "No way were you getting in the building smelling like shit."

* * *

**RangeMan Trenton, Interrogation Room A…**

She felt the change in the air and she strained to hear something, someone in the room, but only silence met her ears. She sat tense for several long moments until she was certain her mind was playing tricks on her. Her shoulders slumped and she had relaxed slightly when the burlap sack was ripped from her head, the rough material scratching her face as it was removed. She blinked against the harsh light that was shining in her eyes.

"State your name." She shook her head in response to the gruff voice and remained silent. The voice demanded again, "State your name." She was aware of someone behind her and tried to turn away from the burning light to see who it was, but rough hands grabbed her forcing her forward, yanking up on her cuffed hands causing blinding pain to shoot through her shoulders. She snapped in anger, "You already know my name! You called me by it when you kidnapped me!"

Her response elicited a chuckle. "Ah, right you are Ms. Hughes. Let's try a different question. Why did you kill Ms. Plum?"

She gasped, "What are you talking about? I didn't kill anyone."

"Yes, yes you did. Ms. Plum and ten other women are dead."

She sucked in a breath and started swearing, "That mother fucking, double crossing bastard! No! He couldn't have. He wouldn't have. It had to be Anastasia. I'm going to kill that bitch. Stupid, fucking cunt. Ruined everything." Her captors let her rant.

"So you're telling us Ms. Hughes, that you had nothing to do with the death of Stephanie Plum?"

"No! I don't know what you're talking about." The man grunted and the rugged material was pushed over her head again.

As they left the room, she realized she was no longer handcuffed.

* * *

Two pairs of eyes watched the exchange through the one-way glass.

The owner of the green eyes that sparked with fire spoke first, "Well, what do you think?"

The other man, his dark blue eyes cold and ferocious, responded, "I think with a little pressure she'll lead us right to her, Lester."

"I think you're right. Let's go have some fun."

* * *

**RangeMan Trenton, Interrogation Room B….**

He coolly contemplated the Latino man in front of him. He was dressed in all black and radiated fury. A lesser man would have trembled when the man's green eyes pierced him. They were the type of eyes that could look inside you and separate flesh from soul; the eyes of a remorseless killer. Ruslan knew his type. He was his type. Men had seen the same look in his eyes before he killed them.

"Why did you kill those women?"

Ruslan smirked, "What do you care about a bunch of bitches?" Faster than he expected the man landed several blows to his ribs and kidneys.

"Who are you working for?" This time he remained silent and the fists collided repeatedly with his face.

"Tell me about Amber Hughes."

His battered face stretched into a gruesome smile, "She's a hot snatch. Maybe I can hook you up?"

"Did you kidnap Anastasia Samodurov?" His eyes narrowed and hardened, but he said nothing.

The man in black picked up a strap of leather embedded with sharp, heavy pieces of metal. It was designed to tear flesh from bone as it was pulverized by the heavy weight. For long moments the only sound in the room was the sickening sound of leather biting into soft tissue. The room slowly filled with a low groan as the pain weakened his stoic resolve.

"You know, Vladimir Popov told us some interesting things about Anastasia." The man spoke as though they were pleasantly sharing a cup of coffee. "I hear she's really feisty. I think I'll pass on Amber, but I think I'll get me a piece of Anastasia."

Ruslan ground out, "Я отрежу тебе хуй прежде чем дотронуться до нее, жалкий ублюдок американских. (YA otrezhu tebe huĭ prezhde chem dotronutʹsya do nyee, zhalkiĭ ublyudok amerikanskih. 1)"

"Вы будете гнить в аду, задолго до того, я это сделаю. (Vy budete gnitʹ v adu, zadolgo do togo, ya eto sdelayu. 2)" The man smoothly replied.

* * *

Her eyes widened as she heard a speaker crackle to life above her and she heard Ruslan gasp out, "You'll never catch her. She's too smart for you." This declaration was followed by a whoosh of air. His voice laced with agony Ruslan stated, "You can beat me all you want. I'll never betray her."

A voice, smooth as scotch spoke and she could tell the speaker was smiling, "That's okay, Ruslan, we're just going to enjoy beating the shit out of you. We're going to make sure every," there was a squeak of pain and a soft crunching noise, "small bone we can find is broken. Then," a clink of metal against metal sounded, followed by silence and then Ruslan's scream pierced the air, "we're going to rip off your other nine fingernails, and finally," the distinctive sound of a switchblade being opened was heard, "we're going to castrate you and leave you to die in the junkyard on the other side of town." A long whimpering moan was heard and she shivered. She had no idea what they had done to Ruslan that time. "It's our favorite body dump because the owner keeps these amazing dogs there. They are terrifically vicious. He only feeds them once a week. They should be really hungry right now. Your bloody, mangled body is going to look like a tasty treat to them." The smooth voice chuckled.

_Oh god! They were going to kill Ruslan._ She had to get out of here! She had to help him, save him. She was certain he was covering for her. He didn't know they had taken her as well. She was pretty confident she was alone again but just to be sure her movements were cautious as she slowly reached up and removed the sack over her head. No one attempted to stop her as she opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. She was in a small room. She had been sitting on a metal cot suspended from the wall. Tentatively she stood up and walked around, checking for anything that might help her. It took about thirty seconds because the room was bare other than where she was sitting. In desperation, she tried the door handle and was shocked when it turned in her hand.

She stepped out into a hallway with concrete walls and assumed she was in a basement. There were multiple doors in the hallway but they were all closed. She assumed Ruslan was near but figured she could help him more at the dump site than she could here in this building. She made her way toward the unmarked door at the end of the hall, holding her breath in anticipation of someone finding her. When she reached the door, she again paused before slowly opening the door. She found herself in a stairwell and on the flight above her was an exit sign. Sending a silent prayer to Ruslan to hang on, she slipped out into the night.

* * *

"Report."

"She took the bait."

"Tracking her?"

"Affirmative."

"Keep me posted."

* * *

1 I'll cut off your dick before I let you touch her, you pathetic American fucker! (Russian)  
2 You'll rot in hell long before I do. (Russian)

Word count: 1,582 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	36. Chapter 36

**Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. **

**Operation Thaw**

**-Chapter 36-**

**

* * *

**

Our Lady of Health Hospital, Monday night….

"Ranger," her sleepy voice stirred him, "Er, Ric. When can I get out of here? I feel better."

He gazed down at the woman in his arms and once again wondered how he had been so blessed. He was happy to have her has his friend but to have her choose him for something more was beyond anything he'd ever allowed himself to hope for. Between them, their lives would never be dull. Just look what the last 3 days had brought them.

Her head was nestled against his shoulder and he leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead. "Babe, you need to stay here another day."

"Why? They took me off the oxygen and said my sat levels are good." She looked up at him and pouted, "I want to go home. I can rest there. If not Trenton, at least take me back to the penthouse. Please."

"Anastasia is still out there. You need to stay where you're safe."

Her brows furrowed, "You're going to leave me to go find her?"

"No, Babe. Tank and the guys can handle it. I'm going to stay with you." Easing away from her and out of the hospital bed he said, "Let me go find your doctor and see what he says."

* * *

Trenton…

She stumbled through the unfamiliar streets, Ruslan's screams echoing in her head. She needed to calm down and think straight. She hid in the shadows and watched traffic going in and out of the 7-11 across the street. When the clientele changed from working men grabbing milk and cigarettes on their way home to bums and whores grabbing a 20-ounce, she cautiously made her way across the street. Within a few minutes she was able to ascertain that she was in Trenton. Picking up the pay phone she made a collect call to her apartment.

"Hello."

"Anastasia?" she questioned. "I had hoped you would be at my place."

"I can't find Ruslan. I thought maybe he would come here since I heard the cops broke up the party at the frat house."

"Ruslan's been kidnapped. I was too, but I got away. We're in Trenton. I need you to get here quickly and pick me up. I know where they are taking him."

She gave Anastasia her location and snuck back into the shadows to wait.

* * *

"Bitch!" she screamed and threw the phone against the wall. In a blind fury, she started tearing up Amber's apartment. As she was destroying the kitchen, broken glass all around her, she came across a meat mallet. Taking it into the living room she started beating the screen of her plasma television. When it was ruined she used her switchblade to cut her furniture to shreds. After ripping up a few more things she made her way to her bedroom demolishing things in her wake, knocking pictures off the wall, smashing vases and knick knacks.

The object of her hatred was posed seductively in a portrait above the bed. She launched herself onto the bed and tore the frame down stabbing the canvas over and over again before slicing the mattress up. Never again would she share the bed with Ruslan.

Moving to her dresser she systematically obliterated her lingerie before moving on to the rest of her clothes. In the bottom drawer she came across a glock. Sticking it her waistband she surveyed her work. Pleased with herself, she grabbed Amber's spare car key and headed out, driving carefully toward Exclusive Services. Her car was stashed in a parking garage near there. She drove aimlessly and dodged around for awhile to be sure she wasn't tailed. Finally, she made the switch from Amber's Civic to her Mustang. The engine growled and she pointed the blood red car toward Trenton.

* * *

Ram made his way up the stone path toward the tiny cottage. His footsteps were muffled by the moss growing up between the rocks. He didn't mind; he wanted the homeowner to know he was there. Stealth wasn't important this time. He just hoped the woman inside had the right answers. He wasn't looking forward to this part of his job. Killing a grandmother would weigh heavily on his conscience.

He rapped sharply on the door and a moment later a voice called out, "Coming." The door opened to reveal a small elderly woman. The distinct smell of fresh baked bread wafted out around her. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Yes ma'am. My name is Andrei. I'm a liaison for the investigators looking for Anastasia Samodurov. May I come in for a few moments?"

Ivanna Eltsina blanched but acquiesced, stepping to the side to let Ram in. Her manners kicked in and she asked, "Can I get you anything? A cup of coffee? A piece of fresh baked bread with jam?"

"That's very kind, Ms. Eltsina, but no. I need to talk to you about Anastasia's disappearance. We have reason to suspect that it may have something to do with several unsolved crimes. The disappearances of Valentina Titov and Dima Fedorov, specifically. Can you tell me anything about them?"

Ivanna seemed to age ten years as she sat heavily down in a chair across from Ram. "Anastasia is a very disturbed woman. I reported her kidnapped but I think she actually ran away. I did my best to control her and limit the damage she inflicted on others but I am an old woman now. I fear what she will do if left unchecked."

Ram prodded her gently, "How do you mean?"

"When she was a young child, only 4, I found her in the nursery with her baby brother. She was trying to use a table knife to cut him. I asked her what she was doing but she just shrugged. She wasn't old enough to put it into words, but it was evident she wanted to hurt him. Her behavior only escalated from there. More and more signs for missing cats and small dogs were posted in the neighborhood. One time while cleaning her room I noticed the worst smell coming from the back of her closet. I finally located the small box that was its source. When I opened it I found a small bunny. It was still alive, but had its eyes poked out and a foot and an ear cut off. The parts were lying in the box with it. I put the poor thing out of its misery. When Anastasia found out she went into a rage, hitting me and yelling. Finally though she apologized and said she couldn't help it and that it would never happen again."

The old woman's eyes were closed, her face drawn and tight as she walked through her unpleasant memories. "I never found anything like that again in the house, but I knew it didn't stop. In fact, when she hit puberty it escalated, except now the target of her ire was people. She got into fights but never got in trouble because she is the daughter of a deputy prime minister."

"Ma'am, it's been rumored you aided in the disappearance of Valentina."

"Yes, I did. I was afraid Anastasia would really try to hurt her. Perhaps even kill her. She was so possessive of that Popov boy. I worked with a man and had Valentina sent away to a private school for girls. As far as I know she is happy and well."

"No ma'am. She was sold into slavery."

A small gasp escaped the woman, "What? No! I was assured she was being sent to a girl's school. I, I even received correspondence from her." The old woman was certainly not a threat.

"Popov's specialty was black market sex trade. He made a fortune from selling young women. Ms. Titov was a victim; she was sold to a man in Italy."

"How do you know this?"

"We've been investigating Popov for years, ma'am. Can you tell me anything that may help us find Anastasia?"

"Just to be careful. She is resourceful and has no morals. If you find Ruslan, you'll find Anastasia. They are inseparable."

"Thank you, ma'am." Ram made his way outside and called Ranger. "She doesn't know anything. She honestly thought Popov helped that Titov girl escape." He paused and then smiled at Ranger's words.

"Yes, sir. I'm on the next plane home." He snapped his phone shut with a relieved grin. He was finally done in Russia. He was finally going home.

* * *

After making several discreet inquires she found there were only two junkyards of significant size in Trenton. The one on the opposite side of town was the only one to employ the use of security dogs. The men holding Ruslan weren't joking. The dogs had a vicious reputation. Apparently the junkyard was mob owned and sometimes disposal via concrete boots was just too much of a pain in the ass.

She knew Anastasia would have her phone so they could use the GPS to get directions to the junkyard. She had seriously considered killing Anastasia as soon as she arrived, but wondered if it wouldn't be better to have her along. If the men holding Ruslan were anywhere near as large as the muscular men who kidnapped her she'd need the help.

Shortly after coming to that conclusion, Anastasia's red muscle car crept into the alley. The window was down and she ordered, "Get in."

* * *

Word count: 1,574 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	37. Chapter 37

**Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. **

**

* * *

Operation Thaw**

**-****Chapter 37****-

* * *

**

Following the directions on the GPS, they easily found the junkyard. Anything that takes over two square miles in a city like Trenton is hard to miss. A comprehensive cruise around the perimeter revealed there were only two entrances. Parking the car a block away they cautiously made their way back to the second, smaller entrance. The wall was lower at the gate and would be easier to breach.

"Give me a boost," Amber demanded. She gritted her teeth, promising herself the time to kill her would come soon enough. Threading her fingers together, Amber placed her foot in her hands. "One, two, three."

She launched the old cow up as hard as she could. Amber caught the edge of the concrete wall and pulled herself up. Amber turned to offer her a hand but she just looked at her in disgust. After backing up about ten feet she ran towards the wall leaping with her last stride. Her right foot hit against the wall, and she launched herself up to grab the top of the wall; using her momentum she easily pulled herself upright. She then carefully balanced on the five inch ledge so she could step over the razor wire. The junkyard owners kept a clean yard and, to discourage trespassers, kept a five to ten foot margin between the fence and the piles of broken cars. Steadying herself she put all her weight on the balls of her feet and lowered her body until she was like a tightly coiled spring. Launching herself backwards, she performed a midair flip and landed on the pile of smashed metal behind her.

Amber hissed, "What the fuck was that?"

She just grinned in the dark. "I'm a traceuse." 1

"A what?"

"Nevermind. Just get your fat ass off the ledge and be quiet." While Amber clumsily struggled to get over the razor wire and up to her, she scanned the junkyard for any sign of Ruslan.

The junkyard was quiet and she idly wondered where the "big, scary" dogs were. Amber finally made her way over to her and demanded, "Give me my Glock!" She handed it over without concern. She was faster and deadlier than the older woman even without the gun.

From their location they could clearly see the main entrance of the junkyard, the office building, the car crusher, and a large empty area that could hold at least three semi-trucks. "We can't stay up here," Amber whined from her left, "we're too visible." Silently she agreed but she had no intentions of conceding to the other woman.

"Get down then. I'm staying up here until I spot Ruslan." As if her words conjured him up, they heard the crunching of gravel outside the large gates. Amber scrambled down but she remained, hunkered down flat against the crushed vehicle.

Three black SUV's made their way through the gates circling around protectively. Seemingly on command, the driver side doors opened simultaneously and three men stepped into the circle created by the vehicles. The men took up defensive positions while the passenger side doors opened and three more men got out. The SUV's headlights lit up the circle casting odd shadows. Two men stood on either side of the center vehicle's rear door while the third man, a hulking monster with a flaming skull tattoo, hauled Ruslan out of the backseat. He was in bad shape; his face was a bloody pulp with his eyes swollen shut. He wore only a pair of boxers, and she caught a glimpse of his filleted back. She fought back the bile that rose in her throat. Amber was not as successful, and her soft retching filtered up from the ground.

Her eyes never wavered from Ruslan as the man shoved him to the ground. Quickly the three men got back in their respective vehicles, followed a moment later by the drivers. The window slid down and the scary man chucked something near Ruslan. His words drifted toward her, "Легкий путь. (Legkiĭ putʹ.)" 2 Ruslan didn't make a noise or move at all.

Five minutes after the vehicles left she scrambled down the pile of cars but hesitated before entering the coverless area. Whirling on Amber she demanded, "Explain again how you got away?"

Amber frowned but then recounted how the men had tortured her and threatened her but then abruptly left her cell. She explained how she frantically searched for an escape when she realized how much they were hurting Ruslan. She laughed at how stupid they had been by leaving her cell unlocked and how she stealthily escaped into the night. When Amber was done, she reeled backwards as Anastasia's fist connected with her face. "You stupid cunt! It was a trap. They let you go. Fuck! Do think it was coincidence that they brought Ruslan here right after we showed up? How long did you wait for me in the alley?"

Amber's hand was still pressed against her throbbing face, "A…a couple hours, I guess."

She scoffed, "And it never occurred to you that this might be a setup? You really thought it took them this long to dispose of Ruslan's body? Idiot."

"No! You're the idiot!" Amber pulled her glock out and trained it on Anastasia. "You're the stupid bitch that keeps getting in my way. I have no idea why Vladimir sent you here but I'm going to send you back. Back to hell!" She began firing as Anastasia launched herself at her.

* * *

As he knelt on the ground where the men had left him he thought he heard soft voices. The voices grew louder and he recognized them as belonging to Amber and Anastasia. _Shit_! He was glad they were here and afraid for them at the same time. He wasn't foolish enough to believe the men had truly left. They seemed the sort to leave an observer to be sure the job was done. When the gun fire erupted he quickly struggled toward the gun the man had thrown at him. He checked the magazine and felt a single bullet. The man had offered him noble suicide. He heard Anastasia scream, "Bitch!" before all was silent.

He held his breath and listened for any sign of life. Tears dripped silently down his face as he thought of his beloved. Soft footsteps approached and through his swollen lids he could barely make out shoulder length light brown hair. Blood dripped from a shoulder wound, streaking down the arm over the hand holding what appeared to be a gun. _Amber_! The gun rose slowly toward him and without another thought he fired.

"Ruslan." The word came out choked as Anastasia crumpled to the ground. Horrified he moved as quickly as he could to her side. Her arm was clenched around her stomach but it did nothing to staunch the flow of blood. Cradling her in his arms, he saw that her blond hair was matted with dirt and blood. In the dark, she had resembled Amber. "Sweetheart. I'm sorry. Oh my god. I'm sorry, my love." He paused before asking, "Where's Amber?"

"If I had the strength I'd hit you for asking that. The stupid bitch is dead. I slit her throat after she shot me." She shivered. "I'm so cold Ruslan."

"I know my love." He knew she didn't have much time left. Apparently the commotion had finally garnered the attention of the dogs. Three Dobermans and four pit bulls were approaching them growling. He threw the useless gun at them and yelled, but they came closer. "Ruslan," Anastasia's words were short, her breath shallow, "Ruslan, don't leave me." He picked up the gun she dropped and checked the magazine; two rounds remained. He was in a winless situation. He could shoot two of the dogs but had no way of defending against the rest. He looked at Anastasia's ashen face and made a decision.

"I'll never leave you, sweetheart." He placed a kiss on her lips, breathing in her last exhalation. Placing the gun against his chest, he fired.

* * *

"Santos."

"It's done. They're all dead."

"Explain."

"Popov shot Liberty. On accident it appeared. Then he shot himself."

"Huh. Fucking Romeo and Juliet. Get the bodies before the dogs tear them up."

"Affirmative."

* * *

"Report."

"It's done, boss. They're all dead. Cal and Junior are bringing the bodies back."

"Put 'em on ice and call Russia."

* * *

"Babe?"

"Hey, Ric," she sleepily opened her eyes.

"The doctor said you can go home in the morning. Lester and the guys caught Amber, Anastasia and Ruslan. They're all dead."

"It's over then?"

"Yeah, Babe. It's over."

* * *

1 A female practitioner of Parkour (check it out on youtube…it's really cool)  
2 The easy way out. (Russian)  
Word count: 1,438 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	38. Chapter 38

Rated: M for language and SMUT. Not mine, not making any money.

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**-Chapter 38-**

**

* * *

**Six weeks had passed since the New York incident. Both the American and Russian governments were pleased that slavery ring had been closed no matter the means. Ruslan's friend, Anton, had been turned over to NYPD to be held responsible for the deaths of the other seven women. The connection with Exclusive Services was kept completely out of the news and Loretta was never the wiser.

She and Ranger were growing closer, getting to know each other better. They occasionally spent the night at her place, other times at his. They went on real dates and worked together. This resulted in several small confrontations with Joe escalating to a loud confrontation two weeks ago.

_He was leaning up against her truck when she came out of Pino's. She eyed him with disgust, "What do you want now, Joe?"_

_"Cupcake, it's been two months. You've made your point. I'm sorry. I'll take you dancing and out on a date or two. Stop embarrassing me already."_

_"Embarrassing you?" she smirked. "How exactly am I embarrassing you?"_

_"By draping yourself all over Manaso. We both know you're just using him to get back at me."_

_She snorted, "To get back at you? Why would I need to do that? Have you done something I need some revenge for?" She laughed. "We're over Joe. If I'm honest with myself, we were over long before we broke up two months ago. We were just going through the motions. I have no interest in getting back at you. Now, please, get over yourself and get over me!"_

_"Cupcake…"_

_She interrupted him, "Oh and stop calling me that. I hate that nickname. I've always hated that nickname." She turned away from him then and hopped up in Ranger's truck. Her body language clearly said she was permanently done with this conversation._

_Before she could shut the door he looked at her carefully, "It's really over then, Stephanie?"_

_She nodded and tipped her head toward the faces pressed against Pino's windows before softly saying, "You're the only one who refuses to see it, Joe."_

_"I'm sorry. Good-bye Stephanie."_

A week later she heard through the grapevine that Joe had accepted a transfer to Boston.

She was at her desk, when Ranger came in his eyes dancing with delight. "Babe, come with me." He held out his hand. She would have followed him into hell regardless, but his enthusiasm had her curious. He pulled her with him into the elevator and fobbed their way to seven. "What are you doing, Batman?" she teased.

"You'll see. Trust me?"

"Always."

"Then close your eyes." She did and he tied a scrap of silk over her eyes. Taking her hand he led her out of the elevator and to the door that led to the roof. "Careful on the stairs, Babe." As they neared the top of the stairs she could hear a dull pounding sound, but wasn't sure what it was. At the top of the landing she felt him remove his shirt. His hands moved to remove hers, followed by her bra.

"Um, Ranger?"

"Shh, carina, just feel it." He lifted each leg and removed her shoes and then slid her pants down her legs. She stood in her panties, listening to his boots hit the floor with a thunk, followed by the rasping noise of his zipper sliding down. She heard fabric rustling and lighter thunks. She assumed he was folding their clothes. Strong arms moved to embrace her and she found herself pressed against a deliciously naked body; his arousal evident against her.

He scooped her up in his arms and opened the door to the roof. Cool, moist air immediately assailed her skin and made her nipples pucker. Water hit her skin and she realized it was raining. Thunder rumbled in the distance and he lowered her onto a cool surface. Her skin broke out in goose bumps from the contrast of the cool air and Ranger's warm body.

She tipped her face up, enjoying the feel of the rain gently misting down on it. Flicking out her tongue, she tasted the clean, fresh water. This movement pulled a groan from Ranger and he leaned down capturing her bottom lip between his teeth before running his tongue along it. He deepened the kiss, slanting his mouth more firmly against hers. Greedily she sucked his tongue into her mouth and ran hers against it.

Pulling his mouth away, he slid his mouth down her jaw before swirling his tongue in the hollow of her throat tasting the fresh rain. His hands skimmed down the sides of her body, coming to rest on her slim waist, his thumbs resting just under her breasts. His movements were gentle and tender. She arched against him when he stroked the swell of her breasts. "Oh, Carlos," she groaned in pleasure. His tenderness was causing pressure to build inside her. She was used to the passion building hot and volcanic between them, but this was something different. Her lack of sight built her anticipation and heightened her senses, making her ache to the core. He hadn't even touched her where she needed him the most.

* * *

Perfect jewels of clear liquid hung from her nipples like morning dew on flower petals. The droplets quivered and he flicked his tongue against them before pulling the tight nipple into his mouth to savor her. He was just getting started and already his need for her was consuming. He wanted her to wrap herself around him, locking him deep inside her with her legs around his waist. He drug his mouth across her skin to her other bud, trailing his tongue, gathering rain drops along the way. Dropping his head he kissed and suckled down her body causing her to fist her hands in his dampened hair. At the apex of her thighs he just stopped, mesmerized by her beautiful body, the tiny triangle of dark brown curls beckoning him. As he looked at her he was overwhelmed by a lonely ache begging to be filled. He loved her so much. He had let her in but now he wanted her fully.

He must have been still for longer than he realized because Steph tried to sit up asking, "Carlos?" He slid his hands from her waist around her back and rested his head on her stomach. She gently massaged his scalp, running her fingers through his hair. They lay together just enjoying the sensation of the rain on their heated bodies. Finally he spoke, "I love you so much, Stephanie."

She pulled off the blindfold and sat up, cradling his head. "I love you too, Carlos." A shiver ran through her body and he snapped out of his haze.

"Babe! I'm sorry. You're freezing." He scooped her up and they quickly made their way back down to the apartment and into the shower. He turned his attention back to her as the hot water pounded against them. Entranced once again by her beautiful body, he returned to lavishing it with his attention. Picking up the bath pouf he sudsed it up with Bulgari and then ran it seductively between her breasts down to her naval. Next he circled each breast avoiding her hardening nipples. Kneeling before her he picked up her left foot and gently caressed the pouf up and down her leg, pausing on the sensitive spots on behind her knee and on her inner thigh. Repeating the same actions on her right leg, she groaned, "Carlos!"

From his position he could see the evidence of her desire glistening on her pink lips. Unable to resist, he dropped the pouf and slid his hands up the back of her thighs, pulling her to him. He dipped his tongue into her sweet juices. "Christ, Babe, you taste so good." He felt her legs tremble and pulled her down to sit on the built in bench, spreading her thighs wide as he did. Burying his head he feasted with gusto, his nose against her pubic bone as his tongue thrust inside her. She lifted one foot up on the bench granting him better access and ran her hands across her breasts.

He paused for a moment to demand, "That's it Babe. Play with yourself. Pinch your nipples. I love watching you touch yourself." Returning to his feast, his eyes roamed her body as she massaged her breasts and then pinched and pulled on her nipples. The hard twists made her nipples red and fresh juices flow. Gleefully he lapped them up. Her soft moans were growing louder as he assaulted her clit, nipping and sucking on it. Slowly he slid one long finger into her dripping hole. "Oooooooh," was her breathless response. He inserted a second finger stroking faster and she moaned loudly, arching toward him. Twisting his fingers inside her, he stroked hard against her g-spot while sucking on her clit. She bucked against him as she came and he gentled his movements just applying light pressure on her clit with his tongue. As she came down he slowly withdrew his fingers and suckled the juices dripping from her. Raising his hand, he caressed her cheek. She turned and captured his fingers in her mouth, sucking her juices from them.

"Dios, Babe!" He found it incredibly erotic when she did that. He drug her from the bench into his lap. She slid her slick lips over his shaft, coating him, before lifting her hips enough that the tip of his hard cock rested at her opening. He thought about thrusting up but waited to see what she was up to. He looked deep into her eyes and found her studying him. Whatever she saw pleased her and she slowly welcomed his aching cock into her tight body.

* * *

She lay cuddled in his arms after their shower activities. He kept winding and unwinding a curl around his finger and she felt a tension in his body. Something was bothering him. She traced the planes of his body with her fingertips and waited. Finally, he took a small breath and quickly asked, "Babe. Will you move in with me?"

Her hand stilled. She thought their relationship might be getting to a point where Ranger would ask her that question. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you looked at it, she'd already given the matter great thought. "No, Carlos, I won't." She resumed the patterns she'd been tracing on his body as he stiffened, "I've given this a lot of thought. I love you. I've loved you as my friend for even longer. I don't want to move in with you. I want to make a home with you, but we haven't even been dating for two months. I did the moving in, moving out thing with Joe. You were right; it was an unhealthy pattern of behavior and one I won't fall into with you. I love you too much. I want to give us time." She willed him to understand.

* * *

He felt as if he'd been kicked in the groin when she said no, but as he listened to her explanation he realized she was right. She was afraid to fall into a relationship like she had with Morelli. There was no way in hell their relationship would ever be like that but he could understand her feelings. He was just going to need to continue with Operation Thaw. Sensing she needed reassurance, he kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer to his body. "Okay Stephanie. I can't say that I'm not disappointed, but I understand your reasoning. Just as long as you understand it's an open offer."

She kissed his chest, "Thank you for understanding Carlos." She looked like a feline as she turned, stretching as she went and crawled up to straddle his body. With a mischievous glint in her eye she proceeded to show him how much she loved him.

* * *

Word count: 1991 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)


	39. Chapter 39

Rated: M for language. Not mine, not making any money. Thanks for your insight on this chapter Sare.

* * *

**Operation Thaw**

**-Chapter 39-**

**

* * *

**

She wasn't sure when or how client meetings became half her workload but they were. Smoothing down her fitted pinstripe skirt, she gave one last glance in the mirror before leaving the bathroom and walking to the conference room.

"Gentlemen," she greeted as she walked in and gracefully moved about the room, shaking each man's hand putting them at ease by her natural confidence. The eldest man placed his left hand on top of their clasped hands, warmly greeting her.

"Ms. Plum, a pleasure to see you again."

"Mr. Greeley, you as well. Didn't you agree to call me Stephanie?" Her eyes sparkled with amusement.

"A cheri, so I did, so I did. Now, sit down and tell me how you're going to secure my new location." She spent the next forty-five minutes outlining RangeMan's proposal for Mr. Greeley's fifth and largest research facility. Mr. Greeley had started working with RangeMan while Ranger was in Russia. He had been satisfied with the security system but was beyond charmed by Stephanie when she and Hector came to install it. When he called RangeMan about his third location he insisted on including Stephanie. Now he worked exclusively with her and this fifth location put him among RangeMan's top ten largest accounts.

Ranger stepped out of his office just as they were exiting the conference room. "Ah, Mr. Manoso," Mr. Greeley called out happily, "I was just telling Ms. Plum how pleased we are with your services."

Ranger strode over to them, shook his hand and gave a curt, "Good."

Mr. Greeley continued, "You know, this one is one in a million. Don't let her go." He took Stephanie's hand, kissed it and winked at her. She blushed furiously as he and his entourage made their exit.

Ranger put his arm around her and pulled her close to his side. "Proud of you, Babe." Pulling her into his office, he shut the door and kissed her soundly.

When he pulled away she laughed, "Good thing the meeting is over. I think you just short circuited my brain."

He just smiled at her. "I have your new employment contract. It's been nearly a year since you started working here." He handed her a sheaf of papers. "Why don't you look those over in your office and come back in here if you have any questions."

An hour later she was back in his office, "Ranger, you can't make me a partner."

"Why not?"

"Because you can't." He arched a single eyebrow at her. It was easily interpreted as 'I'm pretty sure I can.' She continued, "Don't give me that look. Your other men deserve to be partners long before I do. Look at what Ram has done. Or the skills that Hector brings. I just, it's not right."

"Babe. A partner joins a business because they bring invaluable skills or assets to a company. Hector doesn't meet with clients and put them at ease, you do. Ram doesn't bring a fresh, feminine perspective to our planning meetings. You do. You may have noticed that all the other partners have agreed and signed off on this.

"This isn't about you and me, Babe. It's not about the Burg, or your mother or your coworkers or anything else. This is only about what is right for RangeMan as a corporation. Bringing you on as a partner is right for RangeMan."

She frowned. Ranger chuckled, "Where's my impetuous girl?" He grew serious, "Don't over think it Stephanie. We all want you on board."

* * *

He could tell Steph was exhausted as soon as she walked in the door. Ella had brought dinner up a few minutes before and he was just popping the cork on a bottle of wine. He smiled as he heard her shoes hit the floor in the entry followed a moment later by a huge sigh as she flopped on to the couch. He brought a glass of wine to her and asked, "Rough day, Babe?"

Her arms were flopped over her face, muffling her reply, "Damn paperwork. Be a partner Stephanie; RangeMan needs you, Stephanie. Grrr." Suddenly she bolted upright and declared, "This was a setup! I know it. Ever since Tank showed me how to do payroll he manages to have an outside "emergency" that requires his attention when it is due! And Lester! I fully support his budding relationship with Lauri, but how is it that she needs a man on her pit crew every time end of month reports are due? Don't even get me started on Bobby! He manages to disappear somewhere every time there is insurance paperwork to complete.

"Dammit! I want out of the office Ranger!"

"I'm sorry, Babe," he responded, pulling her into his lap and rubbing her shoulders. "I told the guys to share the work, not dump it on you. We'll get it straightened out. In the meantime, I have a surprise for you."

She pulled away and turned to look at him, "You do?" He handed her an envelope from the side table. Tentatively she opened it and pulled out two airplane tickets. "Greece? Um, Ranger, these tickets are for tonight!"

He smiled, "I know. We'd better hurry and eat so we don't miss our flight."

"But, I can't go to Greece."

"Why not?"

"I have paperwork to do and installations to plan. Oh, and who will take care of Rex? And, and you've given me absolutely no time to pack."

"Ella packed your essentials already; anything else we need we'll buy when we get there. Rex is already in the comm room. Tank, Lester, and Bobby are splitting up your paperwork. Hector's doing the installs."

She fidgeted with her charm bracelet. It was an unconscious tell she'd picked up since he gave it to her. She only took it off for bathing and field work. He pulled her back against his chest and nuzzled her neck, "You need a vacation, Babe. I need a vacation. You love the beach. Trust me; you'll really love the beaches in Greece."

She pulled out of his arms and headed for the dining room with her wine, calling over her shoulder, "Guess we'd better eat then! I'm starving."

* * *

It was just before noon when they landed in Greece. The long flight had been uneventful and she had slept for most of it. The whole trip was impulsive as far as she was concerned. She was certain Ranger had everything completely planned but to her it was liberating. After Enigma had mentioned Greece in his email she had googled the small country extensively. She couldn't wait to wander through the narrow cobbled streets filled with stalls and interesting wares. She wanted to watch the fishing boats and enjoy the beautiful architecture. There were all kinds of new foods to try: Greek salads (which she had decided were okay because they were full of olives and cheese), lamb, fresh fish, and, of course, desserts. She wanted to see the Knossos on the Isle of Crete, the Parthenon, and Mount Olympus. Realistically she knew there would be no way to see everything on this visit. Although she noticed the tickets were open ended. They stepped off the plane with their carry on luggage, but instead of heading toward the terminal, Ranger guided her across the tarmac. "Um, Ranger. The terminal is that way!"

He pulled her close, kissed her temple and said, "Yep." She tried to slow him down but he kept her moving. He stopped in front of a small Cessna with a very short man bustling around it. Its engines were already running. They greeted each other and Ranger handed him their bags. Taking her by the hand he helped her up the short set of stairs onto the wing of the plane. The doors of the plane opened up like suicide doors. The small cockpit was quite luxurious and reminded her of a small foreign sports car. The control panel had more gauges and dials than NASA. Helping her settle into the leather seat Ranger secured her flight harness. He gave her a bone melting kiss before he placed a headset over her ears, adjusting the boom in front of her mouth. He closed her door before she could protest. She liked flying but this was a really small plane.

Suddenly his calm, reassuring voice was in her ear, "Relax Babe. I'll never let anything happen to you." He hopped into the plane, his headset already in place and grinned at her. He pressed buttons, talked to someone on the headset, moved some levers and before she knew it they were taxiing down the runway gaining speed. Her stomach dropped slightly as they left the earth below them and she let out a gasp of delight. The smaller plane heightened the feeling of weightlessness and she forgot to be afraid. They didn't fly very high and she took in the sights below her. Before long the beautiful blue of the Aegean Sea stretched out before them and Ranger brought the plane lower. They flew over an island and she asked, "What is that?"

"Skyros Island."

"Where are we going?" Ranger pointed out the window toward a dot that was growing larger. She watched with anticipation as the land came closer. Finally they were circling around a small island. A beautiful estate stretched out below them. The sparkling swimming pool could be seen surrounded by a slate patio and an enormous mansion. The home was on a bluff overlooking a crescent shaped cove. She couldn't wait to dig her toes in the soft, warm white sand.

Ranger expertly brought the plane around and flawlessly landed on the small airstrip. He once again helped her with her headset and harness. When she was on solid ground he pulled her into his embrace and softly said, "Welcome to Sotiria Mou.*"

* * *

Word count: 1642 (excludes title, disclaimer, etc.)

*My Salvation (Greek)


	40. Chapter 40

Rated: M for language and smut. Not mine, not making any money. Thanks to Meg and PricklySare for their contributions to the hot, hot sex in this chapter! _

**Operation Thaw**

**-Chapter 40-**

He watched Steph as she stood on the deck overlooking the small cove. Operation Thaw was almost complete. He'd incorporated Stephanie into every part of his life but one and along the way had made her feel loved, appreciated and respected. He would happily spend the rest of his life making her feel cherished knowing that she would do the same to him in return. Theirs would not be a relationship built on selfish one-sided compromises. She had no desire to change him and he loved her exactly the way she was.

He glanced at his watch, it would soon be sunset. Drifting behind her he wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck. She let out a low moan and leaned back against him, her soft curves molding to his hard planes. Heaven help him, he'd never get enough of her. "It's amazing here," she spoke softly. "Absolutely beautiful. How long have you had it?"

"Couple years. Met a really special girl that I knew would love it. Hoped someday I could bring her here."

She turned in his arms and pressed a kiss to his lips, "I'm sorry it took so long."

"It was worth the wait." Her charm bracelet tickled his skin as she trailed her fingers along his bare chest. The setting sun was painting the sky in vibrant shades of orange, pink, and purple, and the light was catching in her hair, making it shine. She rested her head where her fingers trailed off and sighed contentedly against him. He felt himself responding, growing hard with need for her. Wanting nothing more than to bury himself inside her and show her how much he loved her, he took her hand and led her down the path to the beach. The sand of the private beach was warm beneath their feet, and the breeze that caressed them was scented with the salt of the azure blue ocean. A blanket was spread out next to an ice bucket with champagne. He just smiled at her unspoken question, unwilling to give away all his secrets.

"I love the smell of the ocean," Steph said as she trailed her hand lower down his body, teasing the hair that disappeared inside the black board shorts. "I love the feel of the warm sand between my toes," she continued as she dipped one finger beneath the waistband. He sucked in a breath when that single finger barely grazed his hardening shaft. Holding perfectly still, taking in the feeling of her body pressed against his, he enjoyed the scent of her hair, the tang of salt as it was carried on the breeze. He held perfectly still praying that she would touch that spot again. Her words floated into his fogged brain and he forced himself to keep control of the primal need to turn into a caveman and flip her onto her back. Instead he sat down on the blanket, pulling her with him. "You know what I love more than those things?"

It took two tries before he was able to get his voice to work. "What's that, Babe?"

"I love the way you smell, the way you taste, and the way you feel when I've got you buried inside me." He swallowed hard; pretty sure his brain quit functioning at her words. "Having you inside me, hard and pulsing, filling me with everything you have; it makes me feel strong. Powerful. Invincible. Like Wonder Woman." She wrapped her arms around him, the bracelet once again tickling along his skin as she slid herself firmly into his lap. The moment her heat touched him, he became impossibly hard, straining the confines of his shorts.

"Babe," He managed to get out, his voice sounding strangled.

"Carlos," she countered, her voice sounded smooth, like the richest cognac.

Growling low in his throat, but otherwise remaining perfectly still, he gave over control to her. She touched her tongue to the base of his throat, tasting his skin. Her tongue was warm, and that small touch sent shock waves through his whole body. Her teeth followed her tongue, nipping gently at first before increasing the pressure. To keep himself in check, he clamped his hands on her hips and held on. While she teased with her mouth, her hips began moving in agonizingly slow circles, rubbing her warmth against him. Those small movements sent tingles down his spine.

"Do you know what I really want to do to you, right now?" She asked. He was afraid to speak, afraid that the only sound that would come out would be a primal growl, so he just cocked an eyebrow at her. She let out a throaty chuckle that spoke of sweaty darkness, loud moans, and carnal acts of pleasure.

"Do I make you lose control?" She asked innocently, trailing her lips down his chest, paying attention to each of his nipples. If he wasn't buried inside her soon, he was going to lose his mind. Still not trusting his voice he shook his head, no. "Well then, I'll just have to see what I can do about that." Her body slid down like silk, slowly touching and teasing every inch of his skin with her mouth, hands, and hair. "Right now, I really want to taste you as you lose control."_ Oh fuck!_

At that moment he would willingly do anything she wanted. He was not a man who had ever begged a woman before, but he felt perilously close to groveling. She could ask questions about any mission he'd been on, and he would tell her, gladly, if only she'd quit torturing him with her body. The crazy thought that the state department should hire her to interrogate enemies of the state, slid through his mind, right before it went completely blank as she freed his cock to the ocean air. _Dios mio._ The air caressed his sensitive skin as she circled her tongue around the tip. She trailed the tip of her tongue down along the ridged underside, putting pressure at just the right spots as she made her way along every inch of his throbbing cock. "Babe!" Her only response was a deep throated purr that vibrated along his body.

When she finally wrapped her lips around his cock, he threw his head back and growled. The wild animal caged inside of him waiting to break loose; pacing as it looked for a way to escape, to find and claim its mate. Steph adjusted her body so that she was curled around him; taking him as deep in her throat as she could. His hands moved from her hips to dig into the blanket, anchoring him to the earth. Feeling her teeth graze his length, a shuddering breath escaped his lips. His need to cum was overwhelming. He needed to cum more than he needed to breathe, and if he didn't he was going to shoot off into the sky. His body was going to explode, and he was going to die, but what a way to go.

He cried out when just as he was about to get release she grasped the base of his shaft in her hand and squeezed tightly while simultaneously removing him from her mouth with a pop. "Dios, no!" he moaned, not even capable of raising his voice. His body was on fire and the painful pleasure was intense.

"Patience, Carlos." She grinned wickedly still holding his painfully hard cock in one hand as she applied pressure to his shoulder with the other one, leaning hard against him to push him on his back. Her silky skin slid against his and he noticed that she was no longer wearing clothes. _When the hell had that happened?_ Apparently he hadn't been aware of his surroundings, and honestly couldn't give a fuck. She was naked, her body was gliding against his and the only care he had was how fast he could bury himself inside her tight wet heat.

Watching as she positioned herself above him and slowly brushed her slick folds along his tip, he kept his head raised. "Babe, I need..." that was all he managed to say before his words were cut off by the sheer force of her impaling herself on his rigid cock. She had him buried to the hilt instantly and he couldn't keep from crying out, "Holy Fuck!" as he gave up the fight. Her walls clinched around him as she slowly released inch by agonizing inch. He whimpered when the only part that remained inside of was the sensitive tip. He bit his lip to keep from crying out again when she clenched her muscles tight as she slid his hard cock in and out with shallow thrusts.

She leaned forward and caressed his lips with her tongue, imitating the havoc she was playing on his cock. He felt his balls begin to tighten up and knew he would be able to hold back any longer, but he didn't want to cum before she did. He needed to know she was satisfied. With a strength he didn't know he possessed he raised his hand to her dripping, swollen clit and began gently circling it. She moaned into his mouth as their tongues continued tasting each other. Without warning she once again took him in to the hilt and his orgasm burst free, pounding out like waves in a storm. He rubbed her clit, once, twice, and felt her walls clench around him as a fresh gush of wetness covered him.

He opened his eyes once his breathing was under control only to realize the sun had set while they were recovering from their massive orgasm. The light from the moon danced off the ocean and a million stars were shining brightly in the sky. It was the perfect moment and he grasped it, "Babe, Stephanie, marry me. Stay with me, in my arms, in my heart. Be my wife."

Her eyes twinkled with unshed tears as her mouth tilted into a huge smile, "Yes, Carlos, yes."

Everything seemed right in the world as they lay there under the stars, his arms wrapped around Steph, her head resting on his shoulder. His eyes had just started to drift closed when she gasped. "Carlos, look," she said, pointing towards the sky. Looking up he saw a shooting star streak across the sky.

"Make a wish," she said as she watched the object in awe.

"Don't need to Babe. My wishes have already come true."

The End


End file.
